Kako no Kage
by Smart Angel-Besarki
Summary: Yoh and Anna have been trying to be good parents, but Hana is getting sick of their constant failure. His parents latest mistake may have pushed him over the edge, to the point of "return". YohAnnaHana
1. Frozen Night

Besarki: It's usssss! WE RETURN! WRITING TOGETHER THIS TIME! So, if you don't understand, I, Besarki and Smart Angel are writing this fic TOGETHER! It's like a combination of styles! I've never cowritten before, though, so I'm the newbie here and she's the senior. Meh. I'll leave the rest for her to touch on. She's quicker thinking than I am...

Smart Angel: We are working together now! So if you read some of our fanfics, imagine her stupid cliff hangers and humor, plus my cliff hangers and angst and that's what you can expect of this fic! *laughs* This should be fun!

Disclaimer: We do not own Shaman King or any related elements. However Besarki owns a bad temper and Smart Angel owns an obsession with Hao! But besides that, we have no ownership. Darn.  


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The sun shone brightly over a tiny school building as its many little inhabitants piled out of it.

It was a Friday in Tokyo, Japan. The weather was nice for winter, but it was still cold. Heavy jackets and boots were worn by every one of the children.

For every child, there was a parent or two who walked beside them, holding their hands as their son or daughter told them about their day.

All but one.

Asakura Hana sat on the cement brick wall beside the building, swinging his feet and watching the families pass him by. His parents weren't here yet, but he wasn't worried. They'd be here. They promised.

It's been 4 months since he found out about his real parents. It was a shock, to say the least. His mom wasn't really his mom... His dad wasn't dead...

Hana let out a sigh, seeing his own breath coming out of his mouth. He remembered how angry he felt. How sad he felt. Was a 6 year old kid suppose to feel like that?

How long did he stay without coming out of his room? A week? He didn't know or cared.

His parents had messed up. They'd abandoned him, they'd lied to him, they'd made compromises that they had no intention of keeping. It was hard to forgive them for it, but he tried, despite himself. He'd lost count of the number of times they'd said that they'd do something with him then end up canceling because they were "busy" or they forgot.

It was aggravating and it was annoying, but he constantly reminded himself that they were trying.

His parents, Asakura Yoh and Asakura Anna didn't have much experience in child care. They'd cared for him briefly, but had left shortly after he was weened, which ended up being earlier than most babies.

Tamamura Tamao took over for them, but she just lied to him to, so, in the long run, she was just as bad.

He wrapped his arms around himself and did his best to suppress a shiver.

They were just a little late, he assured himself. They were coming, they were just late.

They would show up soon. Very soon...

Hana looked around. Another parent had showed up to get their kid. The mother smiled sweetly, holding his hand while the father gave him a hug and spun him around in the air for a few seconds, like they haven't seen the child in years...

Why didn't his parents do that with him? Didn't he gave them the opportunity? Every time before going to school he would knock on their door to wake them up so they could bring him to school. Would ask their help to tie his shoes, even thought he knew how to do it by himself since he was three years old. He would follow them around and give them the drawings he made during class... Sure, he knew he was a hard kid to deal with, with all his temper but... God, they wanted to be his parents, then why did they screw up every single chance Hana gave them?

No, stop. Don't blame them, he thought, looking up to the floor and then to the sky, they are trying... They are trying... They were just a bit slow. They would come. They promised him they would come today, and soon it would be him holding his mom's hand and it would be his father spinning him.

He smiled... Yes, his parents screwed up big time. They abandoned him and were really bad parents now that they were back. But soon they would come around. Soon.

Soon...

Seconds soon turned to minutes, and minutes soon turned to over an hour.

His shaky smile remained fixed on his face even long after everyone had gone.

They were coming, he reminded himself, they were definitely coming...

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone approaching the school. His face lit up for a fraction of a second, and then it fell.

Apologetic eyes met his own and he knew immediately what had happened.

They _weren't_ coming.

They did _again_! They forgot about him again! They screwed up again! They abandoned him... again.

"I'm sorry, little boss." Ryu came close to him "Something came up, they couldn't make... They said they were sorry, and promised that they would definitely come get you tomorrow."

Promised. They promised that they would definitely come get him tomorrow. Just like on the night before they promised they would pick him up today.

Yet, they didn't come. He fell for that promised... Actually, he fell for their stupid promises and their lies! He had given them too many chances! They promised him they would come tomorrow...

Like he was going to fall for that again.

Standing up, ignoring Ryu, he marched toward the truck, his hands forming tight fists as he tried to hold his tears back. No, he wouldn't cry. Not for _them_.

"Let's just go, Ryu," Hana said, as he opened the door to the car and slammed close, crossing his arms and looking straight ahead.

Liars, that's what they were. Just liars.

The ride home was quiet.

Ryu glanced over at Hana several times, but he just kept quiet and glared balefully at the front window.

It was snowing now, and the roads were getting bad. Ryu drove slower than usual, which was fine by Hana. He had absolutely no desire to get home and see his failure excuse for parents.

Ryu tried to comfort him. "You know, Hana, they really did try to come get you."

Hana snorted. "Whatever, Ryu. Just get us home."

The elder turned back to the road, a deep frown present on his face. Hana saw it, but didn't recant. He meant what he'd said.

When they finally got to the Inn, Hana just opened the gate and marched inside, opening the door and then going straight for the stairs. He didn't want to see them at all. He just wanted to go straight to his room and stay there, alone, calming himself down.

Up until today he believed that they would come around, that they would be good parents, that they just needed some time. Or at least that's what he kept trying to tell himself.

But how many times have they hurt him already? He lost count. And all he did was put a fake smile and give them another chance. Another chance that they would fail at again.

Hana knew that even though they apologized and "really did try to come," and that they promised they would be there tomorrow, it would be the same as today. They would break their promise again, find another reason not to come, forget him, find something that was more important. And then they would make another shallow promise. It would just keep going on and on...

No, he wouldn't fall for it again. Today was their last chance to try to act as parents.

And they failed.

"Hana-kun!" He heard someone calling his name when he started going up the stairs. He turned around to see his pathetic excuse for a father with a stupid grin on his face. His mother appeared a second later, with her usual cold, angry face "How was school today?"

"Oh, now you care." He sneered at his parents, watching their faces drop and turn taken aback. He wouldn't admit the satisfaction it gave him.

They deserved it.

Hana shook his head and continued his trek up the stairs.

Once in his room, he slammed the door and slid down against it.

His parents were talking at the bottom of the stairs. Talking about him.

"Darn it, I knew that we should have tried harder."

"Yoh, we were stuck in traffic. There was no way we could have gotten him on time."

Oh, that was their excuse, huh? Hana didn't care. Traffic or not, they'd promised, and their promise had been broken.

He'd never forgive them. They were horrible parents.

And like it mattered. Ryu came to pick him up hours later. He waited there for how long? 2 hours? He wouldn't mind being picked up a few minutes later than that. Another hour later. He didn't care. As long as they came and kept their promise.

They didn't talk much after that. Or, maybe they did and he just didn't hear. He wouldn't be surprised if they were whispering. They kept a lot of secrets.

Hana frowned and turned towards his bookshelf. A book was sticking out, as if he, or someone else, had thought about reading it, but ended up changing his or her mind. He reached for the book and plucked it from the shelf.

A family of three cartoon cats posed for a picture on the front. He stared at the cover for several minutes then placed the book down and reached into his pocket. His hand reemerged with a photograph.

It had been taken several days after his parents had come home. He stood in the middle, grinning like a maniac while his parents stood with him on either side.

The picture was flawed. His mother did not smile and his father had a rip in his shirt. However, none of this mattered to him, because, up until then, this had been his favorite picture.

He stared at the photo. In his rage, he wanted to get rid of it. Rip it in half, burn it to ashes! And yet, regardless of how much he hated them at that moment, he couldn't.

It was his favorite picture, and to even think of throwing it away caused him _physical_ pain.

Before he knew it, he heard his mother calling him down for dinner.

Hana looked at the photo sadly for one more moment, and then stuffed it in his pocket, and made his way to the kitchen.

Once he arrived, he sat down, not even looking at his parents. He didn't want to see their faces.

He knew that right now they were exchanging glances, and that now his father was looking from him to his mother back to him then back to his mom only to go back to him again. He also knew that because of that he would probably try to start a conversation, like nothing happened.

And really, what had? They didn't come. Ryu did and brought him back home. Like usual, nothing had happened.

Just that they promised!

"So..." He didn't look up. "Hana-kun, anything special you want to this weekend?"

Tamao, Ryu and Anna looked at Hana, waiting for his answer.

"No." A one word answer. That's what they deserved right now.

"Oh..." His father sounded disappointed... maybe for the fact that Hana was still staring at his empty plate. "Well, any plans at all? Even if they are not special?"

"I'm 6 years old." He looked up, annoyed, and not hiding it. "Why would I have any plans at all? Is the parents' job to do that."

His father looked hurt, while his mother like she was volcano about to explode. Good, they should feel like that after what they did to him. They broke a promise! And it wasn't even the first time! They had already hurt him so much in these past! So many times Hana couldn't even count that high! And what about leaving him for 6 years, abandoned?! He was already giving them a big chance, trying to act like he had already forgiven them when he still felt that bitter taste in his mouth and his eyes watery just by thinking about that! He always acted like he wasn't hurt, putting a fake smile on, and giving them another chance, when in reality he suffering! And he was sick and tired of it! He was sick and tired of suffering in silence, having to give them new chances only to be hurt again and again, just so he could spare their feelings! He was sick of putting them before himself! Why couldn't they do that for a chance and easy his suffering a little bit? Hana was sick and tired of it!

But he was no longer going to keep this in the dark.

"Well... Then... Maybe we could do something..."

"We?"

"Yes.. Something like... Going to the park! Or watching a movie... You know?" He was getting his confidence again. "Something fun like that! Something parents and their children do together!"

"Key word being parent," He said under his breath, but they heard him. They both did.

"That's enough!" His mother yelled. The volcano finally exploded.

"Of what?"

"Of you!" That was a surprise. "I'm sick and tired of having to put up with your bad behaviour!" His bad behaviour? He was being the perfect actor until today! "Stop acting like a spoiled brat, Hana! We couldn't be there, it's over now! Suck it up and quit acting like a brat!"

"But you promised me!"

"So? Hana, we said we were sorry! Quit being stubborn and act like a man!"

"But you promised! You broke your promise!"

"We said we were sorry, okay?!" He could see that she was trying really hard not to get any more angrier than she already was "If we went, we would be really late and..."

"Like it would make a difference! When Ryu came I was waiting for 2 hours already! Half an hour more would have made no difference!" He didn't really care if he couldn't show off to his classmates that he also had parents today, he just wanted them to keep their promise.

"So we asked Ryu to do it instead, so you wouldn't wait for long!" She continued as if he hadn't spoken. Hana knew that she only did that because she knew he was right. "So stop acting so stubborn! Sometimes people make promises to other people and then they have to break it!"

"But I'm your son! And you promised!"

"Oh, quit acting like a baby, Hana! You're already 6 years old!" _Correction_, Hana thought, _he was only 6 years old._ Even if it hurt his ego to admit so, 6 year-olds were still kids. "This is my house and I don't have to tolerate the behaviour of a spoiled child!"

"Yes, you're right." He smiled bitterly "Why should you have to tolerate the behaviour of a spoiled, stubborn brat who was raised by some other woman?"

"That's it!" Anna slapped him across his face.

Silence. Anna had never slapped Hana so hard before.

She looked at him with her eyes wide. Did he know how much it hurt them the fact that they didn't had the chance to raise their son? Didn't he know how much it hurt them? Was he that insensible?!

Without saying another word, Anna marched out of the room.

Yoh looked from Anna to Hana to Anna again and back to Hana. He didn't know what to do. Should he go after his wife who just stormed off, or stay and try to calm his son, who had a red cheek, down? All he wanted was a nice dinner with his family. He wished he could help both of them but...

"Come on Anna... " He stood up and walked after his wife.

Hana crossed his arms again, a satisfied smile on his face. Good, he hurt them. Let them have a little taste of their own medicine.

"Asakura Hana, I can't believe you did that!" Tamao started, after the two others were out of the room.

Hana couldn't help but roll his eyes. Here we go again...

"We raised you better than that!"

"Not in her opinion." He let out a humorless chuckle. "I'm a spoiled brat."

"You are not that and you know it! You always behave better, what's got into you?"

"I guess I just wanted them to know how I feel." Again, he shrugged.

"How you feel?"

"Yeah, how I felt about them breaking their promise!" And all the rest...

"It was just a promise, Hana, they really tried." Ryu looked at the kid. He was the only one who saw how his face fell when he didn't see his parents. The only one who saw the hurt and the sadness. He was the only one who knew that Hana was the one who was hurting the most.

"A promise is a promise!"

"And they are your parents! You have no right to talk like that to them! You have to show some respect!" Tamao yelled.

"After what they did they deserved that at least," He mumbled, but his mother, who was at the door, now a bit calmer and ready to try to talk with her son, heard him.

"We deserved it? Because of a stupid promise?" Anna's voice was a whisper, thanks to her anger returning. Also, thanks to that anger, she wasn't able to see the hurt in Hana's eyes when she said the words _stupid promise_. "Let me tell you something: I have lived most of my childhood on my own! And so has your father! We both had almost no one for us! My parents _abandoned_ me!" Well, Hana thought, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. They also abandoned him. "Yoh's father left him when he was a baby! We never had a normal childhood! We had to train everyday, and then Yoh was asked to kill his own brother!  
"We were only 16 when we were in the middle of a war! We fought so many people and we had to watch so many deaths..." Her voice trailed off, and her eyes carried more anger. Hana only looked at her, his arms crossed over his chest. Yoh only kept looking at both of them, confused. He knew Anna needed to get that off her chest but... But was it right to take all that anger out on their 6 year old son?

"And then we had you..." Now her eyes seemed distant, as if she wasn't there. "You were the happiest thing that ever happened to us. But we had to go save other people. The world needed us." Now she seemed to come back to him "Do you have any idea, Hana, how hard it was for us to leave you?!"

"Not that hard, I imagine. You abandoned me for 6 years." His voice was bitter.

That did it.

"Not hard?! Yoh and I couldn't sleep for a month! We couldn't sleep because we were so worried about you!! Those 6 years... They were TORTURE!! They were the longest years of our lives! But you know why we kept on our journey?"

"Because you don't care!" Hana stood up from his seat. He couldn't take it! Why was she lying to him? Why did she kept saying that they cared when they truly didn't? If they did they would have stayed. If they cared they wouldn't have broken all those promises, wouldn't have hurt him as much as they did... As much as she is now, saying she cared when it's a lie.

"We do care, Hana! We care a lot! And you damn well know that!" She was now angrier than ever, her voice getting louder and louder. How dare he say they don't care? "We were out there making this world safer for you!"

"But I didn't ask for that! You left because you wanted! I would have liked a lot better to have you two here with me"

"We left so you could have a better life!" Yoh looked sadly at his son while his wife yelled. Did he really believed they did not care for him? "And when we come back here, after long exhausting 6 years, what do we get? A spoiled brat for a child!"

"Well, you were the ones who had me! Sorry for not being your perfect son, but you aren't the perfect parents either!"

"At least we are trying! You just sit there, like a stubborn spoiled brat, complaining about a stupid promise!"

"A stupid promise that you two made! But I guess is too much to expect you two to act as parents!"

"Hana..." Yoh tried to calm him down, but Anna cut him off.

"We are good parents! We are great parents! The only problem is that we have the worst son!" That made Hana shut his mouth. He looked surprised at first, but then some small tears started appearing in his eyes "If Yoh ever talked to his grandparents like that he would have been beaten for hours!"

"Well, if you are so unhappy with a child like me, then maybe you shouldn't have come back! Or not have had me at all!" Hana yelled, now his eyes red from the tears he was holding back, his hands turned into fists, his breathing hard.

"Yes, maybe we shouldn't!" Anna didn't seemed to noticed that about her son. "But we did have you and we did come back, and this is our house and..."

"Then maybe I'll leave your house!" With that, Hana ran off. Ryu tried to stop him, but Hana just kicked him and continued on, into the dark blizzard night.

"Hana!" Yoh stood up, trying to run after his son, looking back at his wife. "Anna, I think you went too far, we should go after him and..."

"No, let him go! Let him see how the world is! It would serve him right and teach him to swallow his pride!"

The stinging snow bit at Hana's face.

His mother, _his_ mother! Did she ever have a lot of nerve! DAMN! All she ever did was make him angry. She wasn't a mother, she was a _witch_.

And his father--couldn't he man up just once in his life? Hana saw that he didn't agree with all that his mother said, yet he still insisted on keeping quiet! Why? Was he afraid his wife would sever his tongue? Did he fear her reaction? Was he that much of a wimp that he couldn't even stand up for his own son?

_Too cruel._

Hana cursed his parents in his mind. What he wouldn't do to sit them down and make them listen to what they said to him...

With his attention tangled up in his thoughts, Hana didn't notice the indent in the ground until he was upon it. His foot connected and he tumbled to the snow-covered floor.

Salty tears mixed with frigid snow. It wasn't fair. He'd been so good in the time they were away. Sure, he'd done some bad things, but he had little guidance. All things considered, he was a poster child, so why did things turn out this way? Why was he penalized for patience? Why were his parents heartless? Why couldn't they see?

Frustrated, alone, and utterly lost, Hana dragged himself to the bank of a freezing lake.

He painstakingly pushed himself to his knees and glared at his reflection in the water.

Why did he have to look so much like them? Must he be cursed with this horrible visage?

Furious, he swiped at the water and shattered the image reflected on its surface. The water was bitterly cold, but he didn't care.

His eyes squeezed shut, but it didn't make a difference. Alone and heartbroken, Hana found himself with only one option.

He bit his lip, and he cried.

In the dark of night, he didn't see the malevolent spirit sneaking up behind him until it was too late.

Hana didn't even know what was happening until he was submerged and sinking to the bottom.

He didn't realize what had happened at first. He was crying and then he felt himself sinking into the freezing water. His eyes wide, his fist guess was that he slipped, or that the ground was actually thin ice and he broke it with his weight.

Being six his swimming abilities weren't the best and he could only hold his breath for about 40 seconds. And the cold water... The water that seemed to freeze his muscles would only slow him down. He had to go to the surface. Fast.

But his theory of just slipping into the water was proven wrong when he felt someone pulling him to the bottom. He looked down and saw a dark haired woman... A ghost of a woman, who seemed to have died at 35 years old. She had a sweet smile on her face, which didn't match at all to the fact that she was dragging this six year old child to the bottom of a frozen lake.

Hana didn't register that, thought. He kicked the woman and started swimming up, as fast as he could. He could fill his empty lungs and could see the bubbles carrying the last air he had with him.

Fast... Swim fast...

He got to the surface in time to take one deep breath and scream for help. But no would hear him and he knew that. Not even his parents.

Pathetic. Even in a life and death moment he couldn't help but think about his parents. Real parents would have come after their children right after they stepped out of the house into the dark night. Parents that love their children would be worried sick by now, searching for him everywhere, calling the police.

But his parents? No, they did say he was the worst son in the world. They didn't care for the fact that their six year old son was fighting for his life in a frozen lake miles away from home.

He tried swimming to the place he was before, but felt the ghost pulling him back to the water.

"Don't worry..." Said the ghost as Hana felt his foot touch the bottom of the lake. Too deep... he wouldn't be able to swim back up without losing all his oxygen.

No. He wasn't going to give up. He was going to win this fight.

"Don't worry..." she said again. Her voice was sweet and ghostly at the same time. It almost sounded like a creepy lullaby "I'll be a great mother for you."

Mother. This lunatic was trying to kill him so she could be his mother!

After his real mom, this woman was the worst mother in Japan. And after that came Tamao.

He punched her and tried to swim back up. It was too far... And his lungs felt so empty... The cold water that slowed him down... It hurt so much... His eyes were open, but he had to fight to keep them that way.

He could feel himself wishing for air. He knew that soon he would open his mouth and drown.

No... If he could only hold it for a little while...

His hands were the first thing that met the cold air. He struggled, but soon his head was out of the water as well. He swallowed some of the lake's water, but didn't worry about that now. He was tired, weak, cold, but that woman was still there. She would try to bring him down again and this time he wouldn't make it back.

With his little remaining strength, he swam to the bank and latched himself onto it. However, he was still only partially above the freezing water.

His time was fading, leaving the likelihood of survival to slip further and further from his grasp with every passing second.

The ghost, the cold, the water. Fate was against him, and he couldn't fight.

He heard the ghoul's lullaby and then succumbed to a dying sleep.

He dreamed only of opaque darkness.  


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Smart Angel: I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! Please, review us or else!

Besarki: Right, well, I don't know if we have a quota or not. Either way, leave us feedback, if you will. Helps fuel our motivation! Well, I'm going to go take out Smart Angel for being a hypocrite! LATER!


	2. Nocturne

Besarki: Hello again. It's been, what, a week? Quick updates come to those who review :D

Smart Angel: Well... Sadly, we don't own Shaman King. Hiroyuki Takei won't give up the rights. *sigh*

**To answer the question asked by Animewitch17, the title, "Kako no Kage" means "Shadows of the Past". We're not keeping this a secret, are we? I don't think so. Are we? Hmmmmmm...**

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Two chairs sat on either side of Hana's futon, each occupied by the boy's silent and utterly terrified parents.

Yoh sighed as he glanced down at his son's sleeping form. He reached down and brushed the blond hair out of Hana's face.

Across from him, Anna stared at Hana with a half-blank, half-dead expression.

"Anna..." Yoh hedged.

She offered no reply.

"Anna..." He tried calling her again, but her eyes didn't leave Hana's face. He knew what she was thinking. Yoh knew what she feared. "He will be okay Anna." He reached for her hand "He'll be fine, you'll see."

She looked at him and then back at Hana.

"It's my fault," She said, no emotion in her voice.

"Anna, it's not..."

"Yes, it is." She looked up and he could see the pain. "I went too far."

He wished he could deny that, but they both knew she was right. He went for another path. "I'm just as much to blame. I should have run out right after him, but I didn't."

"Don't you _dare_ try to pin the blame on yourself," She scolded. "This time, the fault is entirely mine."

"Anna..." He tried, his face looking more pathetic than it ever had before. For once, he _didn't_ have the perfect thing to say.

"Yoh-kun," Faust droned, announcing his arrival.

"Oh, hello, Faust," Yoh greeted. "Thank you for coming." He lowered his head to stare at Hana.

"Of course." The spirit nodded. "Now, would you mind explaining exactly what happened once more?"

Yoh looked at his wife and then at Faust. Explain what happened? He wasn't sure what to say. They were suppose to be a happy family. A loving family. When did everything change? When did that turned into a dream?

He knew he should have followed Hana. He knew it. But Anna seemed so hurt. Yoh knew Anna better than Hana, he could never guess that the little boy was also hurting. Maybe even more than his wife. He knew Anna had lost it and that she was about to break and needed him. He thought that his son would soon come back, with only his pride damaged. He never thought that...

That maybe he would come so close to losing him.

Yoh swallowed and began the story.

**FLASHBACK**

He still remembered the sound of the snow falling against the window. Yoh had finally calmed Anna down and he heated their dinner. Even though Anna was calm, she still refused to go look for Hana.

"He will be back soon," Anna said, chewing her food. Yoh let out a sigh.

"I sure hope so... Do you think he'll get sick?"

"He's a shaman, he can handle a bit of snow." She looked down.

Yoh wasn't worried about the snow.

"Yes, but he is still six..." He sighed again. "And... I don't know, with that weird ghost around, I get worried and..."

Anna stopped eating. She had forgotten about that ghost. The Ghost of the Grieving Mother who killed herself after her pregnancy ended in miscarriage. The same ghost that they were looking for earlier that morning, and that the Amidamaru and his friends feared would take the life of a child soon.

The same ghost they didn't find, the same ghost that was still out there.

Her fork fell to the table and she shot up from her chair.

"NO!" She cried.

Yoh whirled to stare questioningly at his wife. "Anna?"

"I forgot about the ghost!" She admitted, more panicked than ever.

Yoh seemed confused. "Can't Hana handle it?"

She grabbed his hand, said, "No, he can't," and dragged him out the door.

In a few seconds they were already outside, searching for Hana. Yoh had grabbed a coat for him and one for Hana. He was a six year old kid, Yoh knew he would be feeling cold.

"You don't think she will go after him, do you?" Yoh asked, now starting to get really worried, seeing how his wife was screaming their son's name and the panic in her eyes.

For a moment, she halted her desperate shouts. She turned to face him. "I don't know," She replied. "I hope not, but I don't know if that's realistic of me to say."

Yoh hated that he had to agree.

"But less talk," She demanded, "and more running."

"You're right," He said, focusing more on the path in front of him and less on the her voice. "We have to find him."

"Before she does," Anna added.

It felt like an eternity, searching for him in those white streets, shouting his name. Hana could be dead by now. She could have gotten to him. Maybe they would never find him. Maybe he would die, never knowing how much he meant to them.

No, they couldn't let that happen. They would find him. He would be under some tree, cold and ranting over bad stuff about them under his breath. They would hug him and kiss him and he would look at them confused, not understanding what was going on.

Yes, think positive. Hana wasn't dead. He was okay.

Of course, all that positive thinking went away when they heard a ghostly voice singing a lullaby...

The two parents could almost feel their hearts stop in their chests.

They were too late. They had failed again.

"HANA!" Yoh shouted.

The ghost paused in her death games to glance up and assess the approaching figures. Her glare told them that she'd give them no warm welcome.

Yoh's eyes flashed to Anna.

"Take out the ghost," He yelled. "I'll get Hana."

Anna could only nod.

He was by the lake, his legs still inside the freezing water. Anna understood what had happened. She had tried to drown him, and he fought. He fought against her, he fought for his life but... But the water was too cold. His small frail body had no protection. He had no energy left, no body heat... Anna knew Hana probably tried to swim back, but fell unconscious...

He was slowly dying... That ghost had tried to kill her son.

She was going to pay.

"Step. Away. From. My. _Son._" she spoke slowly, giving emphasis to every word, but none more than the last.

The ghost stared at her, uncomprehending. This arrogant woman thought that this little boy was _her_ son? But how could that be? This child belonged to her, the ghost of Funbari lake. She would care for him always, and he would never be alone. They would be a happy family for all of eternity.

The ghost would be a better mother than this _mortal_ woman. She was sure of it.

Anna's eyes burned with hatred for the ghost. How dare she put Hana through this? Sure, to say that Anna was the perfect mother would be hypocritical, but this...

Her fury blazed as she meaningfully approached the wicked woman.

She'd messed up more times than they could count, but she wouldn't let her her track record keep her down. Though she rarely showed it, her family was more important to her than anything else on Earth.

This time, Anna wasn't taking _no_ for an answer.

She ripped her rosary from around her neck and flung it towards the ghost. With amazing precision, it looped around her and rendered her helpless. The spirit struggled, but the attempt only sealed her in further.

Anna quickly yanked her away from the bank, giving Yoh a chance to run in a scoop Hana up from the freezing water.

Yoh ran towards their son. He was wet and so white... Yoh couldn't breath. Hana looked... he looked... dead. No, he couldn't be! His little son couldn't be dead! Yoh felt his pulse... It was so weak... In a few minutes he would really be gone!

Yoh took out his coat and putted around his small son's body, trying to protect him from the cold. He lifted Hana up with no difficulty and looked at his wife. She was still holding the ghost. He knew what she wanted him to do. She would hold her while Yoh ran back home, so they could save Hana.

Words weren't needed. Yoh exchanged a quick glance with his wife and then carried Hana away from the face off, leaving Anna to spar with the ghost alone. She'd be fine. Hana was the one they were worried about.

"Come on, Hana," He coaxed. "Open your eyes."

The blonde did no such thing, and, in that moment, Yoh felt his blood run cold.

He arrived home and ran upstairs, to his and Anna's room. He laid his son down on the futon, got every cover he could find on the house and covered Hana, trying to get him warm. His son didn't move. He looked like a corpse.

Yoh bit his lip. Damn... It was obvious the lack of heat wasn't the only thing wrong with Hana. He was dying. His son was dying in front of his eyes and he couldn't do anything! He didn't even know how to stop it! They needed a doctor! They needed Faust!

He should have asked Anna to call Faust BEFORE she unleashed hell on the ghost.

Yoh sat down by his son side, watching his face. He was dying... He couldn't lose Hana. He just couldn't!

Yoh knew the pain of loss. He'd felt it so many times before, each just as painful as the last. In truth, he didn't know that he could take it again, and especially not with his immediate family.

Deep down, he knew that what had happened to Hana had, without question, been his and Anna's fault. He knew that if he had just gotten up and followed Hana out the door, they could have had a long talk and then this all could have been avoided. But he hadn't, and now he was facing the consequences.

In truth, his family was his world. Nothing on Earth was more important to him than they were. To lose even a part of that would be...unthinkable. He couldn't even imagine, and yet, here, he was about to.

His heart dropped through the floor as he ran his hand over Hana's freezing forehead.

Everything will work out. That's what he tried to tell himself. That everything would work out in the end, that Anna would come back and call Faust and in a few hours Hana would be back to his normal self, yelling at them for not following him.

Somehow it seemed hard to believe.

"How is he?!" Anna demanded, as she finally entered the room. She saw her husband next to the futon where Hana was.

"Call Faust..." He didn't even look at her. His voice was so weak that Anna knew something was terribly wrong.

She stared at Yoh for no more than a minute before she moved away and did as she was told.

Faust arrived only three minutes later.

**END FLASHBACK**

"And so we've come full circle," Anna concluded with a sigh.

Faust nodded. "I see." He glanced down at Hana, then looked back up at the boy's parents. "So who wants to do this?"

Yoh stood. "I will. You can possess me." He exchanged a wary glance with Anna. The same creeping question drifted through both of their minds.

_Did they really want to know what was wrong with their son?_

Anna was looking at her husband as he started doing what he could to take care of their son. She stepped aside, giving him more space to work. She heard him murmuring some stuff to himself.

How could she let things get so out of hand? What kind of mother was she? To let her small 6 year old son go out in the snow by himself? What wouldn't she give to trade places with Hana at that moment.

"Kami-sama..." She heard Yoh, or rather, Faust say. Suddenly he started to walk around really fast, bringing some machines close to the bed.

Her heart skipped a beat. He wasn't going to attach those things to Hana, was he?

"What's wrong with him?" Yoh didn't answer, just went on doing what he was doing.

She was on the edge of her seat, and the anticipation was making her nasty. "Faust, answer me before I send your soul to hell."

Faust didn't judge her for her behavior, nor did he blame Yoh for having stiff limbs. He hadn't ever been a parent, and couldn't imagine what this was doing to them, however, he had been a doctor and he knew the pain that came with each hospital visit.

"Please give me a moment, Anna-san," He requested in Yoh's voice.

Faust was doing the best he could. He was a good doctor. He was a _great_ doctor, who saved his wife's life when everyone told he she was going to die from her illness! But the truth was... There was not a lot he could do in that situation. He had seen this case only once before, and it hadn't been nearly as severe as this.

He knew he couldn't save Hana. He knew that. He knew that at every second mattered. The only thing he could do was stop Hana from dying. But that didn't mean save his life. For all he knew Hana may never wake up. His coma was so...

Faust felt Yoh's hands stop. It wasn't a full possession. Yoh still had a bit of control over his body and could hear Faust's every single thought and know everything Faust knew.

And Faust could feel the despair in Yoh's soul. Faust could feel how desperate Yoh was. He could feel the pain.

Yoh was in no condition to continue this in a half-possession.

_You can't be serious, Faust. He... He will be okay, right?_

_Yoh-san, please, let me take full control of the body. _

_He will be okay, right?!_ Anna could see tears coming from Yoh's eyes. She couldn't breathe. Something was really wrong. _He will survive, won't he?_

_Not if you don't let me take over! Yon-san, if I don't do something quick..._

_Just do whatever you need to save him..._

And Faust could feel Yoh's body as if it was his own.

Hana's eyes fluttered open only to have a veil of nothingness flood his vision.

Hana groaned. He felt horrible. His neck hurt, his arms ached, and his head was splitting. He tried to remember what had left him like this, but his brain was met with only searing pain.

Maybe he'd go back to sleep. That seemed like a reasonable idea. Sleep had always helped to cure things. All he had to do was close his eyes and--

_If you do, you won't wake back up,_ Someone disagreed.

Hana's eyes flashed open and he was suddenly wide awake, all thoughts of pain gone.

"Who said that?" He demanded.

The voice chuckled slightly, but didn't answer. Hana tried again. "I said--"

"I heard you the first time."

The young shaman glanced in every direction. There was no one there.

Frustrated, and a little bit scared, he yelled, "Show yourself!"

"Quite angry, aren't we?" Asked the voice, still chuckling.

"I said show yourself!" Hana yelled, turning around, as if he expected to find the person there.

"I know. You have to stop repeating yourself, you know that?" The owner of the voice sounded amused. That only made Hana angrier. He hated when people laughed at him.

"If you don't show up I'll..." Damn. What could he do?

"You'll...?" He was chuckling again.

"I'll go to sleep!"

"You shouldn't do that."

"How can I trust you? If you're telling the truth show yourself!" When no answer came, Hana sat down and closed his eyes. He was tired, so it shouldn't be long until he fell asleep.

"Open your eyes!" Snapped the voice.

Hana opened his eyes and saw a young man, a teenager, around 16, wearing a red kimono. He had long brown hair and big brown eyes that seemed much older than his body. His presence calmed Hana a bit at the same time it alarmed him. Hana could feel that the 16 years old with old man's eyes had a great power.

And yet that was something very familiar about him.

"Put your own life in risk, why won't you?" he now sounded a bit angry. "I understand that you have a hard life but to try to kill yourself so I would show myself? You are either an idiot or a very good liar."

"Who are you?" Hana asked, trying to ignore the insults.

"The Shaman King... Or you can call me Hao-sama or Oji-sama." The boy answered with a smile. Hana couldn't help but think that the boy was a bit... What was the word? Full of himself maybe? Well, he was 6, his grades in vocabulary never were the best.

"Ji-chan?" Hana asked confused.

"Oji-sama. You have to learn more respect."

"So that's why you remind me of Tou-chan!" Hana suddenly realized. "You are my uncle!"

"If it took you that long to realize that then you're definitely Yoh's son."

"What am I doing here?"

"Don't you remember? You nearly died."

"WHAT?! No way! I was having dinner with my parents and..." And everything came back to him. The promise they broke, the fight, the snowstorm, the freaky ghost, the frozen lake, the fight against the freaky ghost, and then...

"I DIED!"

"You're not dead yet. But you will be soon unless we do something..." Hao said, looking over his shoulder and then coming close to his nephew.

"What do you mean?" Hana asked, looking at his uncle confused. But his question wasn't answered, his uncle just kept mumbling to himself things as _not safe_ and _get out of here_.

Hana frowned slightly. He hated being ignored.

"Here is what you need to know," Hao said, finally looking the little blonde boy in the eyes. "I have to send you somewhere you'll be save... Only I'll be able to take you out of there, so no need to worry. I'll be back for you when it's safe".

The next thing Hana saw was a big flash of white light, and then he fell unconscious for the second time that day.

* * *

Smart Angel: *Mysterious Background Song* Can you guess what happens next? XD Hopefully not, this way next chapter will be a big surprise! Oh, and if you don't review, we'll tell Hao-sama. The three of us are very close, believe it or not!

Besarki: And that's a wrap for chapter 2, eh? Nothing more to say. Review or Hao will throw you in a black void! XD


	3. Do I Know You?

Besarki: Aaaaand we're back!

Smart Angel: New Chapter!! Thank you so much for those who reviewed, and sorry if last chapter was confusing. We took a long time writing this one, we used around 7 pages to write and decide everything. XD I had fun...

**Some people were confused about some things on the last chapter. Hana was in a coma, and Hao, because he is the Shaman King (Smart Angel: And he is awesome) he could talk to Hana, even though normally shamans can't see the spirit of someone in a coma. Consider the place they were talking to be a place between life and death that only the Shaman King can go. We can't say too much without giving some spoilers. **

* * *

Hana woke up, feeling the sunlight hitting his eyes. He raised one hand, trying to block the sun, and slowly opened his eyes. The sky was blue, there were many trees and he could smell sea water in the air.

Where the hell was he?

He groaned and attempted to sit up.

Bad idea.

As soon as little Hana pushed himself up, his head immediately collided with a low-growing tree branch and the brute force of it led him to fall back to the Earth.

He grunted. The hit reminded him of his mother's brutal slap.

He looked around, trying to find out where he was. It didn't look familiar. He didn't recognize it, yet he felt like he knew it from somewhere... Maybe stories.

"Where am I...?" He looked around again. "Amidamaru! Amidamaru! Where are you?"

The Samurai didn't appear. That was odd... Normally Amidamaru would show up as soon as Hana called.

"Amidamaru!" He called once more.

Crap. He was alone.

"WATCH OUT!" He heard someone yelling.

Before he knew it, he was plucked up off the ground and carried away from his stationary location on the ground.

A moment later, a huge tree fell just over where he had just been lying.

His face went pale and his eyes trailed up to his savior's.

It was a boy with green hair and eyes. He looked slightly familiar, but Hana couldn't put his finger on why.

"Are you okay?" The stranger asked.

Hana could only nod shakily.

"Phew. That was close. Zelel almost got you with that last hit."

"...Zelel?" Why did that name sound so familiar? Hana wondered.

"What were you doing here anyway?" Asked the green haired boy putting Hana on the ground and looking at him curiously.

It was then that he noticed. This blonde boy... He looked so much like someone he knew.

"I'm... Not sure." Hana looked around. "Where am I?"

"You're close to the Patch Village. This is an odd place to be lost. Did you get separated from your team?"

"My...team?" Hana asked, not understanding.

The green boy frowned. "Did you lose your memory or something?"

"Maybe..." Hana admitted with a sigh. "I don't remember how I got here... I was in Tokyo running at night... That's what I remember... And it's all blurry."

"I see... Well, I'm Lyserg." The green boy smiled "Please to meet you. What's your name?"

"Hana..." Hana looked at the green haired boy. Lyserg. That name was very familiar. He knew he should have recognized the name as soon as the boy said it, but his head hurt and he was so confused right now, that he made no connection to the Green Haired Detective he knew.

"Well, Hana-kun, do you know Yoh Asakura? You remind me of him, and he did say he was waiting for a blond boy..."

Yoh Asakura? That was his father.

"Yes, I know him."

Lyserg smiled and offered his hand.

"Great! I'll take you to him, then!"

Hana hesitated slightly. Did he want to see his father so soon? After what just happened? He wasn't sure, but Lyserg saw his hesitation as timidity and not as indecision and went on to grab his hand.

"Don't worry, Hana-kun. Yoh's a friend of mine. I'll take you right to him. I promise."

"Oh, uh...okay." He inevitably gave in, allowing Lyserg to pull him along the forested trail.

He didn't notice the person with curious eyes and a sinister smile watching him from the back.

-----

"So, how old are you, Hana-kun?" Lyserg asked, smiling at the little boy.

"I'm six," He answered, a mixture of annoyance and happiness for being treated as a little child. No one never treated him like that, he never held anyone's hand and never really had someone to look out for him or make him feel more comfortable with a situation. Because he was an Asakura they just expected him to act all grown up. It was a bit annoying, because Hana knew he could walk by himself, but it was nice knowing that Lyserg was there making sure he was okay.

He only wished that it was one of his parents instead of the Green Haired and Green Eyed Boy.

"Six? Where is your guardian spirit, then?" Lyserg looked around, searching for any spirit that he didn't know and could be connected with Hana.

"I don't know." Hana looked around as well, as if he were to find Amidamaru somewhere "I called him, but he didn't show up!"

Lyserg frowned. "He didn't show up? That's really odd. I hope nothing happened."

"Me too," Hana agreed, nodding sagely.

Lyserg sensed the rising grief and immediately took action. "Well, don't worry. Yoh-kun's fiancee is an Itako. I've heard that they can even bring spirits back that have already passed on. If anyone can find your guardian spirit, it's those two."

Hana nodded. Sure, he knew his mom was an Itako. It was one of the first things Tamao told him when he discovered the truth. Would she really help him find Amidamaru after what happened? She was pretty mad.

"I hope so." Hana sighed and looked down. He wouldn't say sorry. There was no reason for him to say sorry.

"You are not in the Shaman Fight, are you?" asked Lyserg, looking at the mysterious boy curiously. He wanted to find out more about him, know who this strange blonde Yoh look alike was.

"Of course not!" Hana looked at Lyserg like he was insane. Shaman Fight? Him? He wasn't even born when that happened!

Of course, that only made the boy chuckle a little. "Oh, okay. I just figured that you were since you're a shaman and you're so close to the stadium and all. Are you here cheering on your relatives?"

Hana stared without understanding. What was Greenie going on about? The Shaman Fight? That ended years ago. The next one wasn't for another five hundred years, either.

Hana swallowed nervously. He was beginning to think that something was very wrong here.

"I'm not sure what I'm doing here..." Hana explained. Maybe if he just told the truth he would explain better what was going on. "Like I said, I was running and then... There was that creepy ghost lady that tried to kill me... And then I saw Ji-chan... And next thing I know I'm here."

"That's odd." Lyserg continued looking at the strange boy, trying to figure out if he was lying. No, it seemed like he was telling the truth. The 6 year old shaman had no idea what was going, and probably was really confused.

_It's really unlucky of him... Of all the places to wake up, it had to be here. Well, good thing I found him before Hao or one of his followers. Who knows what they would have done to him. _

"Are you participating in the Shaman Fight?" Hana asked, ignoring the fact that his question made no sense at all. He knew the Shaman Fight was over. So either he just went back in time or this green haired boy was crazy. Now that he was thinking about it... He was even using the name of his Uncle Lyserg, the British detective who visited him every now and then.

Yeah, probably Hana was waking up after the fight with the ghost and was found by this Lyserg impersonator.

"Yep." Lyserg smiled "I'm with the X-Laws. We want to stop Hao from becoming the Shaman King and help Lady Jeanne save the world."

He did his research, apparently. He knew that Lyserg was with the X-Laws, even thought he was one of the Five Warriors, and he knew he had no desire to become the Shaman King, but to kill Hao.

"Do you think you can do it? Isn't Hao-jichan really strong?" Hana decided to play along with the crazy boy. Only until he found Amidamaru and was able to get rid of the psycho.

He didn't notice he referred to Hao as Hao-jichan, though.

But Lyserg did.

"What did you called him?"

Hana froze. Oh crap. This guy was more insane than he'd thought. "Um...that was a...joke. Heh heh...not very funny, I guess."

Lyserg stared at him suspiciously. "You shouldn't say things like that. A lot of people would kill you if they thought you were an accomplice of Hao."

This. Guy. Was. Nuts.

There was no doubt about it.

He spoke of his uncle as if he was still a bad guy. Sure, Hana knew his uncle killed many people, but everyone knew the story about the Legendary Battle! How the five warriors, which included Lyserg, and his mom called Asano Ha and together they made Hao change his mind... How many people lost their lives and then Hao brought them all back to life.

But this guy didn't seem to know that. Odd. He knew most things about Lyserg, yet he still believed Hao was a bad guy. It was like he forgot Hao was the Shaman King.

"Like who?" Hana asked. What he really wanted to ask was Are there any other crazy people like you in this place that I should avoid?.

"The X-Laws, of course." Lyserg smiled. "Lady Jeanne wouldn't take pity in a follower of Hao, even if he was a little kid. And there is some other teams here that are not Hao's biggest fans either." He then looked at Hana "Though Yoh would protect you, I'm sure, so don't worry about. Just be careful with what you say. I don't think you're with Hao, but not every one is as understanding."

Not everyone is crazy enough to believe the Shaman Fight was still happening, either.

"Um...right. So, about Yoh..."

A figurative light bulb formed over Lyserg's head. "Oh, right! We have to go find him." He reached forward and grabbed Hana's little hand. "Come on, Hana. I'll get you there in no time flat!"

Hana didn't argue. Anyone would be better company than this psycho.

Hana grunted and glanced up, watching as the green boy knocked three times on the rickety wooden door.

-----

"Yoh! Yoh-kun!" He called. There was no answer, and Lyserg frowned.

"What's wrong?" Hana asked.

Lyserg shook his head. "I thought they'd be here..." He continued to frown for several moments and then suddenly brightened. "Oh right! I forgot!"

The little boy frowned at him. "Forgot what?"

"Tamao-san said they were going to be at the stadium!" Lyserg smiled in apology "Sorry I brought you here for nothing."

Hana felt himself shiver. Tamao. That name didn't brought back pleasant memories.

"T-Tamao?" So there was also a crazy person impersonating that cruel masochist woman who raised him?

"This shy sweet girl who helps Yoh-kun and Anna-san. She doesn't say much and is always red... She is not very strong either..."

Not very strong?! Well, her sure did slaps hurt a lot for someone who is not very strong!

"WHAT?!" Hana couldn't help himself. This guy had no idea who Tamao was! "She's an enka singer! And I would not use the words _sweet_ and _shy_ to describe her."

Lyserg only laughed.

"Tamamura Tamao? She is always red and nervous around people... And she is always obeying Anna and afraid of everyone."

Hana could only stare in disbelief.

"...Are we talking about the same Tamao?"

Lyserg laughed again.

He grabbed Hana's hand and offered him one, bright smile. "Let's go, Hana! There's no time to lose!"

Hana shivered at his words. That creepy feeling would not go away no matter how much he tried to ignore it. He was sure of it now.

Something was definitely wrong here.

-----

It was not possible. It was just not possible. How could this be here? How could there be a big stadium with the words "Shaman Fight" be here? In this place? And why did it sound like there were so many people? Was there a fight going on? But... But the Shaman Fight was over!

Something was wrong. Maybe Lyserg wasn't as crazy as he thought he was in the begging. Maybe Hana was the one who was going insane.

"Stay close to me, ok? There are many weak shamans in there, but that doesn't mean they don't like to pick a fight."

Oh great.

Hana could only nod his head and walk closer to Lyserg, almost glued to his leg. It was weird that the shaman didn't mind.

There was a fight going on inside. Six shamans battling each other, with some weird guy screaming stuff into a wireless microphone. There were many other shamans watching the fight, cheering and booing.

Hana had never seen so many shamans together in one place. And the fight... Fights between Shaman Teams of 3. That was what was happening. And that's what happened in the Shaman Fight.

"The Shaman Fight..." He murmured. It wasn't possible but... But somehow it seemed hard to not believe Lyserg.

In the middle of his observations, Hana suddenly felt something very strange. It was the oddest sensation--one he had felt before. He felt...like he was being watched. However, no matter which direction he turned, there was no one in sight.

As Hana continued to search his surroundings, Lyserg yelled out a familiar name and pointed to the middle of the arena. His younger companion wasn't interested in the fight and didn't bother following the green man's gaze.

The announcer was yelling--probably introducing the two opposing teams for this mock Shaman Fight. The first team sounded vaguely familiar, but not enough for Hana to recognize.

The second was a different story.

"And they will fight tomorrow against Funbari Onsen Team!!!"

And Hana froze. That was just beyond creepy.

"F-Funbari Onsen Team?" Hana looked at Lyserg, who wasn't one bit surprised.

"It looks like Yoh-kun's team is fighting tomorrow... I wonder where they..." And then he smiled and waved. "There they are! Come on, Hana-kun!"

Hana turned his head slowly, almost as if he was afraid of what he would see.

He was right to do this.

No. Way.

Standing several paces away were none other than exact replicas of his own immediate and extended family.

Hana couldn't believe his eyes. It wasn't possible. Here, just before him were...everyone! And how did they look so...

He found himself at a loss for words.

They were identical to his how parents, Tamao, Ren, Horo-Horo, Chocolove, Redseb-niichan and Seyrarm-neechan had been 6 years ago! How was that possible?

And then Hana's mind went blank, leaving only one single question alone in the void.

_Where did my uncle send me?_

* * *

Smart Angel: I think you can guess now where Hana is. Yes, now Hana will meet his teen parents. XD Don't know what else to say... Besarki?

Besarki: Uhhhh...yeah. I don't really know what to say. This chapter may have been a little confusing, but we're sort of using the confusion to our own advantage. If you're trying figure out this chapter, you won't be trying to figure out the next one and therefore will be surprised when it comes out! BAM! EFFECTIVE! Annoying, yes, but effective. Anyway, leave us reviews or we'll feed you to Spirit of Fire. Bye!


	4. Opposite Reactions

Besarki: We're majorly sorry for the delay. Like, majorly. You wouldn't believe how much we've had to do for this chapter. In truth, we really only had about 25 percent of the plot figured out. Now, we're at, about 80 percent. Maybe 90. Updates will come a lot faster once we know exactly what we want done. We're super close, though! So that's good, right? Smart Angel is about to reiterate everything I just said, but whatever. :D

Smart Angel: Sorry we took so long to publish this chapter. ^^" We had a lot to discuss about it and about the future of the fic. ^^"

**Again, big apology from us. We promise not to do this again unless absolutely necessary. Sorry.**

* * *

Hana's jaw just about hit the floor. This couldn't be happening.

The teenaged version of his father smiled at him and waved. "Hey, Lyserg. Who's your friend?"

Lyserg frowned. "Isn't this the kid you told us you were waiting for?"

Yoh frowned. "No, I was talking about Redseb."

"Oh... Well..." Lyserg looked at Hana, who seemed oddly shocked. "Well, this is Hana. He's a six-year-old I found while training... He seemed to recognize your name... And he looks a lot like you, so I thought maybe he was the boy you were waiting for." Lyserg couldn't explain why he thought this and it seemed kinda silly now, but, earlier, it seemed perfectly logical that this boy who looked so much like Yoh would be looking for him.

"Oh..." He seemed slightly puzzled for a moment, but that didn't last long. His smile grew bigger. "He does look like me, doesn't he? You're name is Hana, ne?"

What was going on? Hana was looking at his father, 6 years in the past! That was impossible! He wasn't even born back then and...

What did his uncle say? Something about sending Hana to a place where he would be safe? Yeah, he did say something like that...

And _this_ was his idea of safe?! 6 years in the past during the Shaman Fight, with all those bloody battles and his teen parents who didn't even know about his existence?! _Without_ Amidamaru? Without anyone to help?! He was six years old! He may be independent, but he couldn't take care of himself without Amidamaru and the futsu no mitama!

And who was going to take care of him? His teen parents? Yeah, right! They couldn't take care of him at the age of 22. How could his uncle expect their teenage versions to do a better job?

Seriously! How the hell was this safe?!

"What's wrong, Hana-kun?" Yoh asked.

"N-Nothing," He said, quickly righting himself. Well, at least his parents were _nicer_ when they were younger. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Anna looking everywhere but at him. Okay, so one parent was nicer. His _mother_ hadn't changed at all.

Yoh seemed to notice his--Hana supposed it would be--_fiancee's_ uneasiness. "Are you alright, Anna? You seem out of it."

She shook her head, and snuck one quick, suspicious glance at Hana. "I'm fine." She whispered something in his ear then turned around and walked from the stadium.

"What was that all about?" Ryu asked, confused.

Yoh shrugged. "I don't know. She was definitely upset about _something_, though."

"When is something not upsetting her?" Asked Horo-Horo.

Yoh shrugged, dismissing it. "I guess she will tell me again later." He kneeled down, predictably so he could have a better look at the newcomer. "So, what are you doing here Hana?"

"Well..." Hana looked at Lyserg and then back at his teen father "I don't know for sure. I still have no idea how I ended up here."

"That's odd..." Yoh frowned a little bit.

"I know! There was this ghost who was trying to kill me... And then I talked to my uncle and he said he would send me to a place where I would be safe." Hana crossed his arms "I passed out after that... He told me to wait for him to come get me."

If Yoh didn't understand, he sure didn't show it. "I see... " He stood straight up, and grinned. "You can stay with me and Anna until he comes then!"

Hana frowned to himself. This all seemed so wrong to him. These people were all being so kind and thoughtful, nothing like how they acted in the future. Was it right of him to judge them now for actions they were yet to perform? Would it be right to hold them responsible for something they hadn't done? At least not yet?

He sighed internally. He knew the answer to that. _No, it wasn't._

Maybe he was being too hard on these 'teen versions'. They were just trying to help and they hadn't done anything to wrong him. Even if they would in the future, it wasn't fair to criticize them for it now.

"That would be...nice," Hana agreed. "But are you sure she won't mind?"

Yoh frowned. "Who, Anna? Nah. She's mean to everyone, but she has a big heart deep down."

Hana wasn't sure if he believed that. A big heart for who? Regardless, he let it go.

"Okay, then."

Yoh smile, and for a moment, all was peaceful.

That didn't last.

"Let me check something again: Your name is Hana and you're a boy?" Horohoro snickered. "I think someone was gender confused."

All eyes were on the chuckling Ainu then. How random could you get?

Hana balled his fists. He'd gotten enough of this back--or rather, forward in his own time. He didn't need it here too.

Hana fumed. "My parents gave me that name because it's like their name combined into one!" He defended.

Everyone paused, even the retreating Anna. His parents names? For some reason, this single detail shut her off from everything. She could sense that there was something about that one, single detail. Something _Hana_ wasn't telling them.

Everyone else ceased to exist then as the gears in her head went into increased thought productivity.

Since it was only two syllables, the combined pieces were probably the _Ha_ and the _Na_. For some reason, that sounded really familiar.

But why? Did she know a Ha? No. She didn't. Nor did she know anyone named Na.

She felt a sudden shiver swim down her spine. Then again, maybe she did.

She forced the thought from her mind, and continued walking. She didn't like where that train of thought had been going.

Her pause and resume went unnoticed.

Back with the others, everyone was trying unsuccessfully to guess, but no one got it right. Hana wasn't keeping it a secret, exactly, but he'd heard that meddling with the past could have very negative consequences. He decided that he wouldn't lie if he was asked, but he wouldn't go out of his way to bring it up if no one bothered.

His eventual father went on the defensive after a while, trying to calm him. He held up his hands and smiled apologetically. "Okay, that's enough..." Yoh laughed. "So Hana, what are you doing here in the Shaman Fight? Where are you from?"

He wasn't normally this easy to distract, but he made an exception just this once. "Very far away..." He answered, crossing his arms. "My uncle thought it was funny to send me here without telling me or my parents where I was going."

Yoh frowned. "Well, that wasn't very nice."

"He is not known to be a nice person." Hana crossed his arms "He is not evil or anything... But he's not nice either. He's weird, and that was the first time I saw him."

Yoh smiled now. "Well, everyone has someone in their family who is weird. My entire family is weird too." Hana knew that from experience. The Asakura family was really messed up. "My father even wears a bird mask!"

Surprising himself, Hana laughed. He laughed at something his father said. He was getting along with his father! The same father who just stood there doing nothing as his mother _verbally abused_ him! That was so... odd. And somehow, Hana didn't mind at all. He liked this Yoh. He really liked him. He only wished that his mother in the past was like this as well.

And Yoh liked this Hana character as well. It was hard to describe, but as soon as he saw the kid, he felt like he was special, like he knew Hana somehow. And the way the kid talked to them and how he stood up for himself and explained his situation... He was so easy going that Yoh couldn't help it, he needed to let Hana stay with him until his weird uncle came for him. Hana didn't seem to have a problem with that either, which made Yoh really happy. Another thing he couldn't explain: He wanted the boy to like him, he wanted his approval.

As Anna continued away, the thought that she had been trying to get rid of found its way back into her mind, despite her protests.

Who was this little boy who knew them so very well? Who was he, and how did know so much, and yet so very little at the exact same time?

The bigger question: Why did she recognize him?

That's not to say that she would have been able to produce his name or give any accurate information about him before he was introduced, but somehow, be it a vibe of the sorts, she knew him. The question was how?

Who was this kid?

Unknown to her, someone across the stadium was asking himself the same question.

Sitting with his team in the opposing bleachers, Hao was watching them from the other side of the stadium. He was curious, to say the least, about the blond haired child. He had never seen that boy around before, and something about him just called his attention. There was something about him... Something that Hao couldn't put his finger on...

"Hao-sama?" Opacho questioned. "What are you looking at, Hao-sama?"

Hao glanced down at his little friend and smiled. "It's nothing Opacho."

"Nothing?" She repeated.

He nodded. "Nothing." He gestured in the mysterious boy's direction. "Do you see that child there?"

Opacho squinted her huge eyes. "The new one?" She pointed to him. "With the bright hair?"

"Yes, that one. Doesn't he seem familiar?"

Opacho nodded rapidly. "He looks like you, Hao-sama. Are you related?"

Hao chuckled. "No, Opacho. At least, not that I know of."

"Oh," She said. She blinked twice, then went back to watching the officials clean up from the concluded match.

Hao continued to watch the child in silence. Yoh was talking happily with him, but Anna seemed to be only staring at him, probably trying to figure out who he was, just like Hao. He couldn't read his thoughts, which only made him even more curious...

That boy... That child... Who was he?

Hao didn't know, but he would find out. Soon...

Hana frowned as the adults, er, the teens spoke amongst themselves.

They'd already agreed that Hana should stay with them, but they hadn't decided who exactly he was going to stay with. Yoh had volunteered earlier, but Anna ridiculed him, stating that he couldn't go off picking orphans off the street, even though she of all people should have been able to relate to him.

Yoh argued with her, but he wasn't getting much of anywhere. Not yet, anyway.

Horohoro offered to watch him, but he and Pirika were even less experienced than the Asakuras. Even Anna shot that idea down.

Lyserg said that he would, but that ran the risk of Marco accusing him of looking like Hao and trying to kill him, so that was ruled out fairly early.

Ren didn't like kids much. He said that Jun may have been able to watch him, but he wouldn't have anything to do with it. Jun was currently staying with Sati, studying under her, so that idea was out too.

They were going in circles. Someone had to break.

Hana sighed. His father had offered one more time to stay with him, but again, his mother said no. What was her problem anyway? She didn't even know who he was yet! She had no idea about the things he said about her, and she was already turning him down?

Conclusion: His father had changed. His teen version was much kinder and Hana liked it better than his adult version. His mother... Yeah, she only got taller and became hippie. Nothing else was different as far as he could see.

"Come on Anna, let him stay with us!" Yoh pouted "We're already friends!"

"No." Anna crossed her arms.

"I'll take good care of him!"

"I said no."

Why did Hana felt like a dog who was found on the street by some kid and now he was asking his mom if he could keep it or not?

"But that's not fair! I offered him to stay with us, I can't back down on my promise!"

"I don't care. We'll just have to find another place for him to stay."

Did they even realize Hana was in the same room?

"But Anna...."

"I said no."

"It's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair."

He was getting bored already. The shaman drummed his fingers. This was lame.

"Anna!"

"No means no, Yoh. We don't have the resources or time to take care of someone as young as him."

"We let Redseb and Seyrarm stay with us!"

"That was for three days. This _Hana_ will undoubtedly be staying with us for weeks."

"So? He's only one kid. They were two!"

"_No._"

"Aww, please?"

"_NO!_" She fumed. "You're really starting to piss me off, Yoh."

Hana cringed. His mother only swore when she was really mad.

"Anna..."

"No."

Hana outside. He would have to find another place to sleep, probably. His father never stood up for himself, and he especially never went against his mom. The fight they had before he met that ghost showed that. He would never...

"Anna, he needs a place to stay. He is all alone, his family is not here and there is no where safe for him to stay but here. We can't abandon him, not here, it's too dangerous!" He looks at Anna serious "There is no one else to take care him, and I'm not going to let Hao take care of him, if that's what you're suggesting."

She looked at him like he was crazy. She had no idea she was falling into a trap. "Like hell I'm going to let that brother of yours take care of a child."

Hana almost laughed at that. Yes, his crazy uncle with a sick and twisted sense of humor... The same uncle who sent him there.

"Then he'll stay with us." Yoh went to Hana's side and put his hand on his shoulder "We can't abandon him, Anna... You, of all people, should know how that feels." When Anna stayed silent, Yoh offered her a small apologetic smile. He turned to Hana, though it was pretty obvious that the kid wasn't listening, or paying any amount of attention. "You can stay in my room if you want. If you have a problem with sleeping in the same room as a stranger, though, then I'll bunk with Anna." Though he didn't see, she blushed at his suggestion. Hana wasn't sure why. From what he'd heard from Horohoro-- "If you'd rather not be alone, then I'll stay with you and we can have a slumber party!" Yoh looked back to his fiancee for a final confirmation. His pleading puppy dog eyes were ridiculously overdone.

Anna rolled her eyes and turned away from him. "Fine," She surrendered, though, by the sound of her voice, one would never guess she was doing so, "but if he gets in the way of your training, he's gone."

Yoh beamed with delight. "Oh, thank you, Anna! I knew you'd come through!" He immediately rushed forward and enveloped her in a hug. She didn't respond.

Yoh backed away, then, threw her one last glistening smile and then ran over to Hana, leaving his fiancee in a frozen daze.

The shaman grabbed Hana's hands and grinned at the little boy. "Guess what, Hana?"

The blonde, still in a state similar to narcosis, though minus the drug, jolted when his soon-to-be father took his hands. Yoh didn't seem to notice just how much he'd jostled the poor boy.

Yoh couldn't help but smile as he dragged the small boy upstairs. He couldn't really explain it, but he felt happy knowing that Hana would stay with them... And somewhat relieved. For some reason he wouldn't like anyone taking care of him, wouldn't be able to trust them.

"Anna's a bit mean, but after some time you get used to her, and you'll grow to like her, I promise!" Yoh opened the door to his room "This is where we sleep, it's not big, but I hope you like it!" He smiled and looked at the little kid "I have training, but when I'm free, we can have fun together! The others are really fun too! Don't worry, we'll take good care of you until your uncle comes back!"

Hana nodded and offered the teen a small, shaky smile.

The shaman smiling back at him was so kind, so brave. What could possibly have happened to turn him into such a pathetic person? Hana didn't know, but he planned to get to the bottom of it.

Maybe his uncle leaving him here wasn't as mindless an action as he'd previously thought. Maybe Hao knew what he was doing when he dropped his nephew in that time and place. Maybe, but...

The young shaman internally sighed as he watched the teenaged version of his father depart out the front door. Maybe there was more to this than he realized. Maybe, maybe not.

Hana reached into his pocket and pulled out his only truly valued possession. He held it in his hand and stared at it as his two failure parents smiled back at him.

For reasons unknown, a single tear rolled down his little cheek. It was almost as if tears were something that were to be associated with this photograph.

He wiped his eyes and sniveled. He tried to stop the tears, but they weren't having it. They flowed.

What had happened to turn his parents into the bitter harpies they had so cruelly become? Was it something big or just the little things along the way? Was it him? Was their change a side-effect of his birth? Was it all his fault?

He glared at the ground. No, it couldn't have been him alone that caused all this.

Hana stuffed the photograph back into his pocket and wiped his face on his arm. He stood, his head reeling from the ever-expanding trove of unanswered questions.

Why had Hao really sent him back in time?

Where did he go from here?

What did he do now?

* * *

Smart Angel: Review, me and Hao are really close, so if you don't I'll call him (he is the Shaman King, by the way) and he will make you get punished!

Besarki: Chapter isn't as long as it should be but seriously, you should see how much we take out. TONS! We rewrite a lot and stuff like that so it takes a while. Cowriting is awesomely fun and has a cool end result, but it's not easy. So review. My threat? I have a crowbar. 'NUFF SAID!

Smart Angel: Trust me, you do NOT want to get on her bad side when she has her crowbar.

Besarki: Believe it or DIE! *Swings crowbar menacingly*

REVIEW!


	5. Reishi Wars

Besarki: OHMYGOD! FASTER UPDATE THIS TIME! (We told you!) And OMG! Comic-relief chapter! MY SPECIALTY! (What an odd team we make, wouldn't you say? XD) AHHHHHH! EXCITEMENT ABOUNDS! YAY!

Smart Angel: We are back!!! =DD Besarki wrote most of this chapter, 'cause she is better at humor than I am! XD I'm good in angst. ^^" So if you see a chapter that is more angst, than I wrote, if it's more humor, than she wrote it!  
**  
We had to mess with the timeline a little bit in order to make this work. In this story, something caught Anna's attention so she never went to the river or got any kind of tip off, and therefore didn't know that Yoh dropped out. We're trying to stick to Takei's chronology for the most part, but having Hana here twists it in certain places. We'll warn you if there's another switch.**

* * *

Hana stared unmoving at his bowl of food. It was some kind of ramen, but he didn't know which. It looked just like the regular, discount-brand stuff, but...

The color was off.

Across the table, Yoh glanced up from slurping down his own dinner. "Something wrong, Hana?"

The young shaman glanced up. There were a lot of things he could say to that. However, he supposed that his father was talking about the food itself and not the dinner arrangement. He made something up.

"I think I might be allergic to this. It's making my stomach hurt."

Yoh chuckled. "Really? That's funny. Anna doesn't like this kind either."

"That's because you use apple juice instead of broth," She muttered from across the table.

...What?

"Here." The itako took a plate of something from the counter behind her and pushed it across the table, never once looking up from her book.

Hana pulled it in front of him, and frowned. Bland, unflavored noodles.

"Plain noodles?"

"Better bland than apple juice flavored."

He couldn't disagree with that.

Yoh chuckled. "You guys have no taste. This stuff is great."

Anna made no comment. Hana didn't even hear. He was too preoccupied with trying to absorb the fact that his mother had actually done something...nice.

The six-year-old wouldn't deny how awkward this meal was. It was the first time he'd eaten with his parents since the incident, and the first time their meal hadn't been loaded with tension and ill feelings since...well, it had been a long time.

Yoh noticed his preoccupation after going on about nothing for a while and get absolutely no response from the boy.

"Well, what you usually eat, Hana?" Yoh asked, making Hana look up from his flavorless noodles.

"What?"

"What do you usually eat?" Yoh still had a smile on his face, not seeing to notice how awkward the kid was feeling "You're going to stay with us for a while, I want to prepare something you like!"

"I..." What did he usually eat? Before, Tamao and Ryu used to cook for him, and even thought Tamao was an evil person with a double personality and Ryu was someone who never _was_ the best role model, food there at the inn was always great. But now that his parents were back, his father would be the one cooking. When he didn't forget to cook, and yes, that happened so many times that Hana already lost count, he would burn everything he made, or he would use the wrong recipe. Sometimes he would even cook something Hana was allergic to. But even though he hated his father's food, his mother forced him to eat, saying that during the six years they were traveling they saw a lot of kids who suffered from hunger, and who would love to be in his place, eating dinner everyday.

Too bad that sometimes the food that his mother wanted him to eat could kill him.

Maybe that was the reason why they changed so much. Not the food, but the journey they had, rescuing people, helping them... Maybe that made them change.

"I... I like yaki soba and things like that... But I haven't eaten in a long time," He answered, finally remembering what Tamao used to cook for him.

"Why not?"

Crap. He should have expected that.

"Well... My parents were away for while, and I was living with someone else... Their food was great, but now my parents are back, and their food tastes terrible." Hana made a face that caused Yoh to laugh.

Anna, on the other hand, was looking at him suspiciously.

"Your parents left you? And you stayed with someone else? Who _wasn't_ your uncle?"

"My uncle is a busy person." Yeah, he guessed the Shaman King had a lot more things to do than to just sit around and look after his nephew. "And so are my parents. They have more _important_ things to do," He finished, a strong note of bitterness apparent in his childish voice.

Yeah, they always had more important things to do--during the six years they were away. Even though Hana knew they were saving and helping people, it still hurt. Parents are supposed to put you first, right? They are suppose to think of you above everyone else, love you and want to make sure you feel loved! Thinking about it now, Hana would have been satisfied if they came home at least for his birthdays... Or they could have called a few times, or sent a letter... Or maybe even a spirit! Just something so they could talk and have some kind of a relationship before they came back. But no, he was ignored most of his life, lied to and now that they were finally back, they still ignored him! They screwed up every chance Hana gave them.... They always had something more important to do then spend time with their loser son, Hana...or pick him up at school after they promised.

"Why would your parents be too busy to take care of you?" Yoh asked, looking at him with a mixture of pity and curiosity.

"I dunno." He shrugged "It's always been like that. I just got used to it by now. Ta-neechan and Ryu-jichan are nice though... Well, Ryu-jichan is. Ta-neechan is just as mean and evil as my mom."

Yoh laughed, forgetting the issue.

"Then I'll try my best to make the best Yaki soba you'll ever eat tonight!"

Hana smiled as well.

Anna, on the other hand, was looking at him, clearly thinking about something. Then she silently stood up and left the two.

Hana watched her out of the corner of his eye, suspicious because he knew better than to turn a blind eye to any shady shaman, regardless of whether or not said shaman would eventually be his mother.

"Hellooooo? Hana?" Yoh waved his hand in front of the blond boy's face. Hana jumped.

"Wha? Oh, um...what?"

Yoh chuckled whilst grinning like a child with a lollipop. "You kinda zoned out there."

"Sorry," He apologized, feeling slightly ashamed for not paying better attention.

"It's okay. All this talk is making you kind of nervous, right? You're in a strange situation with people you don't know, or maybe you do know. I noticed that you act especially strange around Anna and I. I won't ask why that is, but, you know, if you ever want to talk about it, I don't mind listening."

Hana stared like a deer in headlights. Since when was Yoh so intuitive?

Yoh grinned and patted Hana on the head. "That's a funny face."

Hana shook his head, throwing off his confusion. It seemed that his father's occasional dim wit was nothing new. Oh well. As long as he was benign, he could live with a little idioticness.

Yoh just laughed. He could easily read the young shaman's face. He knew what he was thinking. In all reality, only Anna knew just how smart Yoh really was. His less-than-genius appearance was just a facade.

Most of the time, anyway. "Anywho, it's too bad that Anna left just now."

Hana peered up at him questioningly. It was? "Why?"

He shrugged. "Well, there's something I have to tell her. Something happened recently, and, well, she deserves to know." Uh-oh. That didn't sound good. "You can come, too. It doesn't really mean anything to you if you're not in or at least connected to the Shaman Fight, but I don't care if you know."

"The Shaman Fight?" Hana looked at his father curiously. He tried to remember some of the things that were important during the Shaman Fight to narrow down what could it be that his father wanted to tell his mother, but couldn't. Somehow everything seemed important, everything seemed worth mentioning.

Plus, if he figured out the exact time he was, the day, month and what event would take place next, he may figure out a way to go back to his own time period.

"Everything in the Shaman Fight is important, isn't it?"

Yoh laughed.

"I guess. But this is something really important." No help there.

"Does it have something to do with Manta?" Hana asked. Yoh only looked at him confused.

"Why would it have anything to do with Manta?" He smiled. "Manta is human!"

"Oh... Right."

So it was before the beach incident.

"Something to do with Redseb-niichan or Seyrarm-neechan?"

Again, Hana looked at him curious.

"Why do you call them that?"

Hana looked down. This wasn't going well. Why couldn't his father just tell him? Why did he have to guess?

"It doesn't matter! Can't you just tell me what it is?!" Hana looked extremely frustrated, but all Yoh could do was laugh at him. He reminded him so much of Anna.

"God, you are just like Anna! A mini boy version of her!" He laughed again. "Though you are a bit lazy just like me!" Another laugh, and for a moment, Hana thought he was busted. Luckily, Yoh dropped it. "Well, it's something I did that will make Anna really mad" _That narrows it down._ "But there was no other solution."

"Solution for what?" Asked a female voice coming from the door.

_Always._

Yoh froze, and then immediately cringed. "Ah ha ha...Anna...what are you doing back here so soon?"

"I forgot my wallet," She answered simply. Hana resisted the urge to roll his eyes. That was a flat out lie. He knew that his mother rarely ever carried her wallet. She made his father pay for everything. She only took it with her when she was out for a long period of time by herself or at least without Yoh.

"Oh...I didn't know you brought your wallet to America."

She twitched. Something told Hana that she hadn't.

"Anyway," She started, diverting the attention from herself, "what were you talking about just now?"

"W-Well...i-it's nothing. It's just that..." Yoh looked down, then at Hana. "T-To save Ren's life I... I..."

Oh. So that was it. Suddenly it made sense. He knew in what part of the Shaman Fight he was.

"You gave up, right?"

Yoh threw a surprised look in his direction. "How...?"

However, before he could say another word, Anna's palm suddenly collided with his face.

His head jerked to face her. "Anna..."

In a matter of seconds, she'd gone from cool and collected to absolutely super-killer-mode. "I don't know what infuriates me more: The fact that you dropped out without asking me or the fact that you told him first!"

"But I didn't...!" Yoh yelped in desperation. His eyes went to Hana. "How did you know?"

Crap. Should he tell the truth?

"Well... I..."

"It doesn't matter!" Anna put her hands on her hips. "You dropped out?! What about the promise you made me all those years ago?! What were you thinking?!''

"I had to," He stated. "If I didn't, Ren would have died."

Or stayed dead, Hana mentally added.

Anna's expression didn't change. It was like she had no heart at all. For crying out loud, what did his father see in her?

The itako suddenly shot her would-be son a dangerous look. Hana jumped, mentally doing the math in his head. He loosed an inward sigh of relief when he realized that she would have lost her Reishi by now.

"What are you looking at, kid?" She hissed.

"Anna, be nice. Just because you're mad at me doesn't mean you can be mean to him," Yoh defended.

Her face had turned to stone, as it always did when she was reprimanded. However, though Hana absolutely couldn't believe it, there appeared to be a glimmer of regret deep within the depths of her golden eyes.

"So Ren was going to die and the only way for you to save him was to drop out?" Anna sighed. "Brilliant, Yoh. How do you plan to defeat Hao now?"

"I don't know." Yoh looked at the floor. "I'll think of something..."

Somehow.

Little did he know that outside, observing the three, someone was forming his own plan.

Asakura Hao and his teammate Opacho hid in the tree just outside of the little inn. It was rather unorthodox for a shaman of Hao's caliber, but not completely unheard of.

For reasons unknown to anyone but himself, a sinister smile suddenly formed on Hao's face. It was an action that he'd performed many times before, and, almost always, someone died because of it.

"Hao-sama thinks something is funny?" Opacho assumed, staring up at her surrogate big brother with humongous eyes.

Hao peered down at the girl and offered her a more natural smile.

"It's something like that."

"Oh." Her smile didn't falter, though she had absolutely no idea what was going on. Hao was absolutely positive of this, and it thrilled him to no end.

"I have a task for you, Opacho," He told her, his smile still in place. He wanted to pat himself on the back for his brilliance. It was, after all, the perfect ploy. "I want you to go keep an eye on Yoh for me, and do whatever you can to make sure he rejoins the Shaman Fight."

The African shaman cocked her head. "Yoh-sama?" She asked, confused.

He nodded. "Yes. Oh, and while you're there, do me a favor and find out what you can about his new friend."

Her surprise grew. "_Hana?_"

Again, the pyromaniac nodded. "It's a big task. Can you handle it?"

Opacho abruptly stood, nearly falling off her tree branch but saluting anyway. "You can count on Opacho!" She swore.

And Hao just smiled.

Just as he'd hoped.

---

The rest of the day had followed without incident. Hana stayed in the tiny inn room with Yoh and Anna, though he ended up sleeping on the couch even though Yoh offered to give up his room. Whether they'd be his parents or not, right now, they were strangers and he wasn't exactly comfortable sleeping in the same room as strangers.

The following day began pretty much as he would have expected. Hana awoke first, Yoh shortly after him, and then, about half an hour later, Anna was up. Yoh spent some time with his new friend until his fiancee was coherent enough to kick him out and force him to train.

Hana didn't follow his father, nor did he have any intention of sticking around with the ice queen. Alone, the blonde headed outside and sulked on the deck. He couldn't explain why. Even though his parents--one of his parents was nicer in the past, Hana still felt irritated for being sent back here.

"Who does Hao think he is?" Hana seethed to himself.

"Hao-sama is everything," Spoke up an eerie voice from beside him.

Hana nearly jumped out of his pants. His head whipped to the side and he stared dumbfounded at the small African shaman who sat not five feet from him.

"Who the heck are you?!" He demanded.

The little girl turned her head and gave a big, cheeky smile. "Opacho thinks Hana-san should roll over and die now!" She said with unbridled sincerity.

"WHAT?!?!" He shrieked.

"SHUT UP OUT THERE!" Anna screamed from inside the room. Hana cringed. _Witch._

"Opacho thinks Anna-san is right."

"Hana thinks Opacho should can it already," Hana retorted, furious and mocking.

The girl twitched, but otherwise stayed rooted to her spot. Hana turned away from her and grunted.

Opacho. Now that he thought about it, that name did ring a bell. But why? "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Opacho comes for Yoh-sama," She replied, her voice sounding like the growl of a foaming dog.

Hana misunderstood completely and absolutely. "Tou-san?!" He gasped.

"'Tou-san?'" Opacho repeated, looking utterly confused. Unfortunately, before she could get another word out of her mouth, she was suddenly bowled over by a raging Hana.

"Oh no you don't!" He screamed. He heard something shatter on the opposite side of the door--probably after being thrown by an angry itako monster--but he disregarded it.

"Get off Opacho!" The girl yowled, warring with the boy she now considered to be a psychopath.

"No way!" Hana insisted. "I won't let you kill Yoh!"

She glared. Poor Hana didn't stand a chance. "Oversoul in hair! Mama!"

In that instant, there was only one word that filled the great expanse of Hana's young mind.

_Crap.  
----_  
He could compare the sensation he was feeling now to the sensation of being at the receiving end of a champion boxer's punch. Either that or having a rock dropped on you.

"Moron. I don't have a clue how you got this way, but if my suspicions are correct, you're in for a lot worse," A female's voice hissed.

Suspicions? What suspicions? Actually, never mind that. Where was he? AND WHY DID IT HURT SO FREAKING BAD?!

After a lot of agonizing struggle, Hana finally managed to force his eyes open to the blinding visage of the inn's interior.

He was lying in someone's bed, presumably Yoh's, and there was someone sitting in there with him.

His vision blurred and he squinted to try to clear it. The person was...

He squinted even more, not believing his own eyes. No effect. The person remained the same.

Anna.

"Is he alright?" Yoh asked, dashing into the room from outside. He was all sweaty and gross, no doubt from his prior training.

Yoh paused upon entering the room. He turned his head a bit and frowned. "Is that Opacho?" He questioned, sounding just as confused as Hana had.

The youngest member of Hoshi-gumi offered a smile smile and a wave to the elder shaman as she sat in the corner of the tiny room. That was it, though. She offered no words to answer any of his questions.

"Strange, isn't it?" Anna suddenly asked.

"Opacho?"

"No, you idiot."

"Oh, well, what then?" Yoh's confusion hadn't faded. If anything, it had only increased.

"That Opacho should show up so soon after you dropped out of the fight."

Yoh frowned. "I don't get it." His face screwed up. "And that _does_ have to do with Opacho! You said it didn't!" He was immediately silenced by an evil glare from his fiancee.

"Open your eyes."

"Um..." His eyes were already open and so the command seemed to confuse him.

"Ugh, don't be such a dolt, Yoh!" She slammed her hands down on coffee table, causing the ornaments that adorned it to shake. "Opacho hardly has a will of her own and I very much doubt that she came here just because she felt like it."

Yoh was grimacing now, like he didn't like where this conversation was going. "What are you saying?"

She rolled her eyes. "Isn't it strange...that Opacho, Hao's favorite henchman, should show up so soon after _Hana_ learned about your self-dismissal from the Shaman Fight? Don't you think, Yoh?"

Hana sat up, looking at his future mother as if she was crazy. Was she implying what he thought she was implying? Did she really think that? Well, that would explain a lot of things, but still! Yoh didn't doubt him, why would Anna? It made no sense, they were both his parents in the future, both in the same situation, then why would Yoh react one way and Anna another?

"I... I don't think I get it." Yoh said, his voice serious, showing that he knew what she meant, but didn't agree with it.

"That _boy_," she said, pointing at Hana. "Is obviously a spy! He works for Hao!"

"What?!"

"You're wrong, Anna." Yoh said, still serious, walking towards his eventual son. "He doesn't work for Hao."

"He does. It makes sense. He is so much like an Asakura, looks like you and him and..."

"And I don't care." Yoh didn't look at her this time "Hana does not work for Hao. Hana is not like that, Anna."

"What is he then?"

"I don't know." Yoh looked at Hana, who had his eye wide, not believing what he was hearing. "But he is not, that's what my heart tells me."

"Well, your heart is an idiot then, because logically..."

"Maybe you shouldn't use your head either, Anna." Yoh smiled. "Humans don't believe in ghosts because logically they don't exist. We know that's not true. There are things we can't understand, and Hana is one of those things. He is mysterious, I'll give you that." He then looked at Hana "But my heart tells me to trust him. So I will."

Anna looked at Hana, then at Yoh. No... There was no way that boy wasn't related to Hao somehow, no matter what her heart told her. Hana had too many mysteries... She couldn't let go of it just yet.

She couldn't and she wouldn't.

Anna glared at Hana with a look that said, _I know something's up._ She knew and she wasn't going to drop it that easily.

Hana hadn't been purposely keeping it a secret. He'd already established that he'd tell that if they'd asked. However, now, staring into the baleful eyes of his future mother, he was beginning to rethink his policy.

His eyes fell and his courage died under her dangerous gaze. Impossibly, he found himself wishing for his real mother and father. Impossible, but true.

Though he'd never come to realize it before now, his parents, the ones in the future, had almost always protected him when others meant him harm, the one big exception being the fiasco that got him into this whole mess in the first place, but even for that they'd come--late, but they kept the ghost from killing him at least.

For the first time since he'd arrived here, Asakura Hana found himself _wishing_ for his parents. His _real_ parents.

Anna's eyes narrowed further, then, without another word, she abruptly stood and stormed from the room.

---

It had been an hour...and nothing had changed.

Hana couldn't believe this was happening. He'd escaped Anna's wrath only to stumble into Opacho's? Honestly! Where was the justice?

"Opacho thinks Hana looks like Yoh-sama and Hao-sama."

"Hana doesn't care," The boy hissed.

"Opacho thinks Hana is rude."

That, he laughed at. What did this kid know, anyway?

"Opacho knows more than you think."

Hana jumped for the umpteenth time that day. "Did you just read my mind?!" He exclaimed.

Opacho smiled smugly. Hana felt the nearly unbearable urge to smack her. She _had_ to be the most annoying little _monster_ he'd ever met.

"Opacho is not a monster. Opacho is a shaman."

"Quit reading my mind."

"Opacho is unable."

"Why?!"

"She cannot control her ability to read hearts or minds."

"Can she control her ability to _not_ talk in the third person?" He demanded.

Opacho cocked her head. "...Opacho does not understand the question."

"That's cause Opacho's dumb!"

"Opacho is _not_ dumb!"

"Oh yeah? Prove it! What's the square root of a carrot?"

"Opacho does not think that is a fair question!"

"HA! Proof!"

"Opacho thinks Hana is a cheater!"

Hana stuck his tongue out. "At least I can speak properly!"

"Hana is a big jerk!"

"Nyaaaa!" He taunted the little girl relentlessly, flapping his cheeks and throwing her strange expressions.

"Opacho knows Hana's secret and Opacho thinks Hana should stop before Opacho tells everyone!"

"Nuh uh! You couldn't know my secret cause I'm not hiding anything!"

"Hana is a liar!"

"Meh. Say what you want." He crossed his arms, confident that he had won this battle.

"Hana has not won yet! Opacho never gives up!"

"Don't care."

"Opacho knows your secret and Opacho's gonna tell!"

"Ha! Good luck. There is no secret." Didn't stop her.

"Opacho's gonna tell your secret! Opacho's gonna tell your secret!"

"I thought I told you it wasn't a secret!"

"Opacho's gonna tell your secret!"

"I said--"

"Opacho's gonna tell your secret!"

Hana seethed. "Argh!" Would it never end?!

"Opacho's gonna tell your secret!"

In that moment, Hana grew a strong distaste for tiny African shamans.

Her jibes continued, but he wasn't about to sit around and take them.

"Opacho's gonna--" Before she even finished her statement, Hana rose to his feet and took off in the opposite direction.

* * *

Smart Angel: And we end the Reishi Wars!!! Now you know why Anna 'dislikes' Hana so much! Review!!

Besarki: Ta da! There's another chapter in the bag. I'm all worn out now XD Haha! To be expected. Anything else to say, Smartsy?

Smart Angel: Don't get too used to humor! I'll soon write some angst!!!

Besarki: And no one's better known for angst around here than Smart Angel, huh? Hehehe...Anyway, review or **WE'LL GET YOU! **(Hao or the crowbar. Take your pick. XD)

REVIEW!


	6. Chasing Butterflies

Besarki: Hi guys! How's life? Good? That's good. Bad? Well, that kinda sucks, but we all have our moments. Do you like the new avatar? If you haven't gotten it, it's half of Smart Angel's and half of mine mashed together. CHECK IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME! Oh, before I hand things over to Smartsy, I wanted to extend a big thank you to Suprema Onmyoji Isah for the compliment. It brought a big smile to my face. :)

Smart Angel: We're back!!! And we a great chapter with a surprising ending. ^^ Hope you enjoy it!!

**In the reviews, yehey asked why apple juice was used instead of orange juice. The reason behind this is because Yoh's choice of broth was meant to seem absolutely revolting. Apple juice makes Besarki physically ill (Besarki: Seriously, it does. Like, puking my guts out ill. It's the weirdest thing) so it was used a sort of comparison. Though, now thinking back on it, it didn't make sense because she was an idiot and forget to tell you. Sorry! XD Again, though, thanks to everyone for the outrageous reviews! They fuel our crazy minds! Last thing before we start the chapter: The chapter title is symbolism, in a way. Though there are butterflies in the chapter, the title actually has nothing to do with the insects. Think about it. We'll tell you the significance later.  
**

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Seyrarm sat alone with her back against a tall oak tree. Redseb had previously sprinted into the bathroom after telling her that he'd be right out and that she was to stay where she was. Seyrarm didn't really want to, but she listened, sitting motionlessly while her eyes followed the wing beats of the multi-colored butterflies.

"Seyrarm? Are you still out there?" Redseb called from within the stall.

Seyrarm squeaked a quiet note of confirmation, but otherwise remained silent. It was enough for her overprotective big brother.

She sighed, still looking at the butterflies. They had many colors and seemed to be flying into the woods, almost as if attracted by something. They looked so pretty and so free... And whatever was attracting them seem to attract Seyrarm as well.

Slowly, she stood up and started to follow them, silently, as if the lowest sound could make them all disappear.

Hana groaned, his head resting in his hands.

Yoh was in training and wouldn't be back for several hours. Where did that leave him? Yep: Stuck with Manta, and, honestly, while Manta was a good guy and all, being stuck with a babysitter who was barely as tall as himself was sort of degrading.

Hana bit back a heavy sigh as his guardian looked down at him from the doubled hay stack to his left.

"So, Hana-chan," Manta began in a casual voice, "what do you want to do?"

Hana was tempted to say something rude or snarky, but his ever-growing conscience held him back.

"I don't care," He replied in the most boring monotone he'd ever used.

Manta shuffled uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head. He wasn't very good at this. "Well, do you want to play a game?"

"Like what?" He asked with little interest.

"Um...hide-and-seek or...tag maybe?" Manta was perfectly content with sitting around looking through his all-inclusive dictionary and encyclopedia, but he had a feeling that doing such a thing was about as appealing as eating rusted nails to Hana.

"No, those games are dumb."

Manta laughed nervously. "Well...um..." He cleared his throat and tried to diffuse the uneasy silence between them. Needless to say, it wasn't going well. "Well, do you have any ideas? What do you like to do?" Hana looked at him. One thing that he remembered from the short guy was that he wouldn't give up, though he didn't have his way with kids.

This was going to be a long an awkward moment.

"I don't know." He shrugged, looking out the window.

"Well...we could go for a walk and..." The look Hana sent him made him stop in his tracks. He tried something else. "What about watch the Shaman Fight?"

"I don't think there are any battles right now."

"Do you want to play on the computer?"

"I don't know how."

"What about... reading a book?"

"I'm a 6 year old shaman. Do you really think I read that often?"

"Watch TV?"

"Nothing is on."

"What about training with Anna?"

"You're kidding right?" He _was_ kidding, wasn't he? Why would anyone train with his mother for _fun_?

"Well... We could..." This was going no where, Hana realized. It would be better for him to stop the teen before he suggested something weird like going on a trip to hell. After suggesting training with his mother, he really wouldn't be surprised.

"Look, Manta I appreciate it, but I don't feel like doing anything big right now."

In a last ditch attempt, Manta made one final bleak suggestion. "Well, we could go play the Munzers, if you like..."

Hana's head snapped up.

Wait, did he just say Munzers? As in Redseb and Seyrarm Munzer? Aren't they Asakura Munzer? Oh yeah, he forgot, his uncle and aunt were adopted soon after the Shaman Fight... That means they are probably still young right now. Like Aunt Seyrarm, or Seyrarm-neechan like she told him to call her, would probably be around his age. And his Uncle Redseb, or Redseb-niichan, would be 8. They were all around the same age.

This could be interesting.

"The Munzers?" Hana repeated.

Manta straightened, shocked to get any kind of eager reaction out of the boy. "Y-Yeah. They should still be hanging out by the station. We can go meet up with them if you want."

Hana grinned. "Okay."

Manta blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Hana cheered. He jumped off his bale of hay and grabbed Manta's hand. "Come on, let's go! Let's go!"

Manta smiled a divided grin: half-elated, half-confused. He couldn't be blamed.

"Where are they?" Hana asked, looking around. There was no one for miles. "You said they would be here."

"They should be here," Manta said, also searching. "Yoh-kun told me that they would stay here until he finished his training."

"Are you sure it was here?" Hana asked frowning. So much for playing with Redseb-niichan and Seyrarm-neechan.

"I'm positive," He replied, though his voice cracked a bit in the middle of his claim.

The younger of the two stubbornly crossed his arms. While it was entirely possible that the Munzers were just out at the moment, he seemed more content to think that Manta had led him to the wrong place. "Are you absolutely positive?"

"Yes, Hana. This is exactly where Yoh left them. I was even with him at the time."

He huffed. "Well then where are they?"

Manta shrugged. "I don't know. They're kids. It's entirely possible that they just wandered off. Kids _are_ known to do things like that."

"You trying to say something, Manta?"

The elder waved his hands in front of his face in a, _you've got the wrong idea_ sort of way.

Seconds before Hana "defensively" smashed his fist into Manta's face, a savior's voice echoed over their heads.

"Hey!" They heard someone calling from a distance. Both turned around and saw Yoh running towards them with a smile. He slowed to a stop just a few feet away from them. "What's going on, guys?" He stopped, suddenly realizing the oddity of Hana's presence. "Why are you here, Hana-chan? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Manta said Redseb-niichan and Seyrarm-neechan would be here and that we could play." He frowned, then threw an accusing glare and the threat of a tightened fist in Manta's direction. "But he was lying to me."

"I was not lying! They should be here!" Manta said, panicking. If Manta had had the time to stop and think, he would have realized that the only other person to scare him this much was Anna.

"Redseb-Niichan and Seyrarm-Neechan?" Yoh asked with a light laugh. He was still smiling. "Why do you call them that?"

Hana opened his mouth, but nothing came out. What would be a good way to answer that...?

However, Yoh's attention rarely lasted for more than a few seconds, and before Hana could bother thinking up a crafty reply, Yoh patted him on the head and shrugged. "You're right. It doesn't really matter."

"I never said--"

"Anyway, if Redseb and Seyrarm are missing, that could mean real trouble."

"Somehow, for _real trouble,_ you don't seem to be all that concerned about this, Yoh," Manta noted. His taller friend grinned.

"There's no need to worry, Manta. Everything will work out."

"Will it?" Hana muttered, his mind on something far more severe than the sudden disappearance of the Munzer siblings.

"Of course it will. Just relax. Everything will be fine."

Hana frowned. He'd heard _that_ before.

"I know Redseb enough to know that he doesn't bite off more than he can chew--not anymore," Yoh stated. "Unless Seyrarm's in trouble, he's actually pretty passive. For his age, anyway. I bet the two of them are just off playing games."

"This is a pretty precarious time to be carelessly playing games, you know. I mean, Hao's still around and--"

"You worry too much," He chuckled.

"Hao..." Hana frowned. Yeah, his uncle was still alive and evil during this part of the Shaman Fight, right?

The idiot who sent him back to the past. Sure, he saved his life, something not even his parents bothered to do, but what use was being alive if he was sent back to the past? What was he thinking, really? Did he think it was funny? Does Hao have some twisted sick sense of humor?

Well, he remembered once Ryu telling him about how his uncle used his dead body to scare his father and his friend, and then when his father cut his head off, he made it smile.

Yep. Definitely a sick, twisted sense of humor.

Hana was born in the most messed up family in the world, wasn't he? Not to mention that he had one hell of a family tree.

But... The Munzer's also had a pretty weird past, didn't they?

"Hana!" His teen's father voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Come on, we have to look for them!"

"Coming," He yelled back, running towards his father. "Do you have any idea where they may be?"

"Me?" Yoh asked, with a confused face. When Hana nodded, he smiled. "Not at all!"

They were searching for two missing kids and that's how he responded? How did he react when Hana went missing on his time period, since he seemed a bit more caring now than in the future?

"I was thinking maybe you could help us!"

"Me?"

"Yep!" He smiled. "You are about the same age as them, aren't you? Where would you go?"

Hum... Where would he go?

"Probably someplace close to my guardian spirit."

"Your spirit...? Where is he, by the way?" He asked in a curious voice.

"I have no idea," Hana answered, sighing "I told you, I don't know how I ended up here. But normally I never go anywhere without Amida..."

"YOH!" Manta called, interrupting what Hana was going to say.

Even though Yoh ran after Manta as if Hana hadn't said the beginning of Amidamaru's name, the young shaman knew that his slip hadn't gone by unnoticed.

"That's so weird!" Yoh laughed. Manta and Hana didn't share in his amusement. Neither did the other three shamans that had joined up with them sometime along the way.

"Not hardly, Yoh," Ren commented. "Take another look at the situation: Those two never go anywhere without the golem. Isn't it strange that they would simply _leave_ it here?"

In all truth, it definitely was pretty strange that the big hunk of machinery that was sitting motionlessly in front of them was none other than the golem, unactivated and unattended. This thing could be a really dangerous weapon, why take the risk of leaving it alone?

Though Hana knew that the bigger question was: Why was this even happening? Hana knew without a shadow of doubt that there had been no such event in his timeline. The Munzers had wandered off plenty of times, sure, but never without their golem and their disappearance had _never_ invoked a full-scale search before.

A dark question crept into the depths of his mind.

_Had his appearance here altered the future?_

_Careful, Hana,_ Warned the voice of who Hana now considered to be the single most annoying person in the whole world.

"Hao!" He shouted.

Everyone stopped to throw a curious or deeply suspicious look back at him.

"Everything okay, Hana?" Yoh asked cautiously. Beside him, Anna glared for all she was worth--a lot.

"Y-Yeah," He answered, stuttering.

"He obviously doesn't want to talk about it," Ren butted in, saving the shaman to his and everyone else's utter shock. "If he has problems, let him deal with them on his own. They're not our responsibility."

"But he is," Yoh challenged quietly.

Anna stared at her fiance unbelieving, and then her head suddenly whipped toward Hana. "You know, nothing but bad things have happened since you showed up, and I'm getting kind of sick of it."

Yoh's eyes, stricken and disbelieving, snapped to hers. "Anna--"

"No, Yoh, not even you can deny that our luck has been particularly bad since we first met him."

Yoh stumbled and stuttered over his words in some sad attempt to form a good fight for that. He came up empty handed.

Anna pointed accusingly at her future son. "I've never liked you," She hissed, lying through her teeth though no one noticed. "Ever since you got here, it's just been danger, trouble, danger, trouble, and honestly, I've had enough."

"Anna, you can't--"

"I CAN DO WHATEVER I DAMN WELL PLEASE!"

"Anna, please, if you would just--"

"No! If you refuse to see then I'll do it for you!"

"This isn't--"

"Are you really so incompetent that--"

"WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP AND LET ME TALK?!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. But it was too late to take them back, and too late to fix the suddenly wretched atmosphere.

At that very moment, a number of unimaginable things occurred: Anna's inquisition died in her throat, Hana's eyes widened from the sickening familiarity of the situation, Ren froze, Ryu went slack-jawed.

Everyone gasped...and Hana knew why. Hana knew...

Up until now, Asakura and Kyoyama never fought, not severely, not like this. Yoh never raised his voice, and Anna never met opposition. This wasn't the way things were supposed to be. This wasn't...

Anna sneered as she threatened to turn her back on the one she loved the most, and that impossible glare somehow crept its way onto Yoh's almost always-kind face. The two stared each other down, and then suddenly turned on each other and stormed off in opposite directions.

Three seconds later, Hana's stomach dropped through the floor.

* * *

Smart Angel: I felt so sorry for Hana during this chapter... T_T Either way, we given you plenty of hints in this chapter, pay attention to them!!! And review! Or else...

Besarki: Seriously, if you can honestly read this without picking up on the ridiculous amount of hints we drop, well we'll just say you're an idiot. PAY ATTENTION! The conflict with the Munzers will be resolved next chapter, but that alone may not be enough as we may have already seen the spark that lights the inferno. MUHAHAHA! Review, munchies!


	7. Grudge

Besarki: I claim responsibility for the lateness of this chapter. I'm sure Smart Angel was ready to ring my neck with how many days I wasn't on and writing. So, anyway, due to chronic missing Besarki syndrome (and intensive angst), Smart Angel wrote most of this chapter, so while Reishi Wars was my chapter, this one's hers. Eep!

Smart Angel: We are so sorry this was late! And maybe you may notice that somewhere in the middle it started to get a little slow, but the reason that is... We got lost. XD We stayed weeks without talking about the fic and we forgot what was supposed to happen and had to read our ideas again.

**Even though it's over a month late, we wanted to dedicate this chapter to HPCS2 for her birthday. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!**

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He could feel his feet hitting the ground hard as he ran away. The voices calling his name slowly fading away. He didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to see any of them right now.

Why did she have to say that? Did she really hate him that much? She barely knew him! They barely talked to each other! So why did she have to say that?!

...And why did it hurt so much?

Maybe it was because it reminded him of what she said that night, the last time he saw them. The two of them got into a fight and the result was something similar to this. He got hurt and ran away.

The difference was that when it happened before, he wanted them to follow him and apologize. Now he only wanted to be alone and figure things out.

So his mother hated him. Ok... Plenty of people have cruel mothers. At least his father still cared for him. Yoh was defending him the entire time, against everyone. He even stood up to Anna! He probably just didn't follow Hana because he knew the boy wanted to be alone.

Yeah... His father cared for him... For now, at least.

He pushed those thoughts away as his mind forced his feet to carry him faster.

He couldn't think like that. Not now.

He couldn't, and yet...

No! He just finished having this conversation with himself. He wouldn't bring it up again. If it was his fault, then so be it.

The little shaman mentally cursed himself. He knew better than to pity himself. Pity never got anyone anywhere before, after all. It wasn't going to start now.

And neither was he.

As his stride lengthened, his speed increased. Before long, the voices faded into mere memories of what they once were. He paid no mind.

He went on running, his little feet leading him to where his mind would not.

After nearly half an hour of searching, Redseb had finally found Seyrarm. As he should have guessed, she was wondering around, following the pretty butterflies. The intense sense of relief that came over him as he saw his little sister, safe, was almost overwhelming.

"Seriously Seyrarm, what were you thinking?" Redseb asked, taking his sister by her hand and dragging her. "Nii-chan said for us to wait for him there! They are probably very worried by now!"

"..."

"I don't want to imagine how angry nee-san is going to be when she finds out why we were missing."

"..."

"I just hope we didn't cause any trou..." He looked back at Seyrarm once he realizes that she stopped walking. "Seyrarm, is something wrong?"

Of course, the mute girl didn't answer, so Redseb turned to look at the same direction, and sees a blond kid, much like them, unconscious.

Hana's eyes snapped open in furious aggravation as he felt a wave of cold liquid rushing over his face.

"HEY!" He shrieked, his eyes ran over his company. He would have relaxed had the frigid water that soaked him not been chilling him to the bone.

A few paces away, Redseb stood holding an empty steel bucket. Hana had no idea where he'd gotten it or the water that had previously filled it but, for the time being, he decided it best not to ask.

"You picked a weird place to take a nap," Redseb noted from beside him. Seyrarm stood a little off to his right, staring into space.

Hana shook in an unsuccessful attempt to dry himself. He groaned and reached his hands around to ring out his water-darkened hair. When he finished, he dropped his arms and glared at Redseb.

"Why did you do that?" He demanded.

Redseb shrugged. "You wouldn't wake up. I had to do something." He tossed the bucket to the side and crossed his arms. "I tried shaking you and yelling in your ear but neither of those worked. I didn't have a choice!" He yelled, as if that would somehow justify his actions.

Hana glared and growled simultaneously, though Redseb wasn't intimidated.

Redseb, totally relaxed, tilted his head as he examined the new company.

"You're that Hana kid, right?" He asked, looking at him. "The one that Lyserg found and thought was me."

"Yeah..." Why was he speaking like there was such an age gap between them? Sure, Redseb was actually 8 years older than him, and Seyrarm 6, but they didn't know that! For all they knew he was Seyrarm's age! "And you are Redseb, the kid who disappeared and got everyone worried."

"Worried?" His face became pale, and he broke out into violent shivers. "Is... Is Nee-san... A-a-a-a-angry?"

"Nee-san?" Hana blinked. "You mean mo... I mean, Anna, right?" Hana frowned. "She's pretty mad."

"Mad?" Even his voice was shaking with fear now. "Oh man... Let's go Seyrarm! We're going to get in trouble!"

Seyrarm said nothing. Hana cocked his head.

"She doesn't say much, does she?" Hana inquired.

"We don't have time to get into this now," Redseb quipped, grabbing hold of his sister's wrist and of Hana's. "We've got to get back _now_ or Anna will kill us for sure!"

Sadly, Hana didn't doubt that for a second.

"Anyway," Hana started, "do you even know how to get back?"

Redseb stared dubiously, then stuttered out an, "O-Of course I know how to get back." Which was obviously an all-out lie. Hana saw right through him.

After a moment, Seyrarm tugged on her brother's sleeve and pointed to a broken stick on the ground.

Both boys stared questioningly at her, until she pointed to another stick behind it, and then another.

Hana's face visibly brightened. "You left a trail? That was an awesome idea, Seyrarm!"

"..."

"Seyrarm...?" Hana drawled.

The little girl stared at him silently for one more moment before turning around and departing. Not a word was said.

Neither one of them had spoken a word since what happened. Hana ran off and Yoh got even more angry at his lover for saying such hurtful words to the boy. But obviously that wasn't the main problem. He wouldn't get so upset because a stranger said that to him... So it must have something to do with his family. Hana did mention a few things about his parents... Maybe what Anna said opened some old wounds?

It really didn't matter why he ran, but that Anna was way out of line. She shouldn't have said such a thing. Yoh wasn't going to apologize to her. If someone needed to apologize, it was Anna. And to Hana.

Speaking of the blond itako, she was once again looking at Yoh, holding a sigh from escaping her lips, almost as if she could read his mind.

She knew he was right. She shouldn't have said those things to Hana. In fact, she didn't want to. But logic said that he was on Hao's side! He must be planning something! What if he was the one who made Redseb and Seyrarm disappear? What if he killed those two kids and now wanted to kill Yoh?

But... The look on his face when she said those words... She regretted the minute she saw the hurt on his eyes. It hurt so much to see him like that.

Why?! Why damn it?! Why was that brat doing that to her? Who was he any way? And why did she even care for him?! It made no sense!

Anna's hand slammed angrily down on the table in front of her, drawing Yoh's attention, but her anger apparent enough to keep him quiet. It was so unlike her to get all bent out of shape over something so petty. So why? Why did this bother her so much?

She gritted her teeth together before opening her mouth and letting out a long, drawn-out breath. It came to her unfortunate realization that she wasn't going to feel any better until she figured out why.

Why this boy mattered.

Yoh looked at her once more, noticing her distress. So she was feeling bad about what she did.

"Anna..." Yoh started, but never finished what he was saying, because a second later Redseb came in running, dragging Seyrarm and Hana with him.

Yoh abruptly stood up, his eyes wild with millions of questions. "Where've you two been?!" He demanded.

"More importantly," Anna spoke up, her previous train of thought completely gone now, "why's Hana with them?" Her voice was suspicious, but Hana couldn't help noticing that she'd actually said his name for once. Since when did that happen?

Redseb took it upon himself to play leader and explain. "Seyrarm was following some butterflies and I tried to bring her back." Redseb said. His confused blinking marred his leadership act, but only a little. "Sorry if we worried you."

Yoh smiled, relieved.

"So you weren't in any danger?"

"No."

Hana looked at the two. His father looked so relieved to know that the Munzers were safe...

When he goes back to his own time period, would he feel the same way?

"You haven't answered my question," Anna said, crossing her arms.

"We found him unconscious."

"Unconscious?" She echoed.

Redseb shrugged. "Yeah. We were just hanging around minding our own business, when, BANG, we hear this plunk and there he is! Face down and unresponsive! It was nuts!"

Yoh and Anna wore equivalent frowns.

"What happened, Hana?" Yoh asked, a question they were both wondering.

"I..." Hana stopped to think "I don't know. I was running and then _he_," he pointed accusingly at Redseb, "threw water on me!"

Yoh laughed a little, while Anna just crossed her arms.

"You don't know?" Anna repeated, raising one eyebrow.

"No, I don't." Hana frowned. Why did she need to ask twice? Is not like he was going to lie to her and... Oh yeah, it was Anna asking the question.

"If he doesn't know, he doesn't know," Yoh said, coming to his defense.

Anna shot him an annoyed look, but made no move to argue. Did she seriously just let that go _again_?! Hana was beginning to wonder if she was sick or something.

Anna crossed her arms and wordlessly sank into the chair behind her. Hana knew better than to accuse her of pouting.

There was a moment of silence before Yoh decided to act like a numbskull again.

"So...let me get this straight..._you_," He gestured to Hana, "took off and ran into _them_," He gestured to the Munzers, "and _they_ brought you back here."

"You didn't need to emphasize every other _word_, Yoh," Anna hissed.

Redseb cringed away from her, though Hana didn't move. She wasn't mad. She just sounded that way. When you were an Asakura, you could read stuff like that.

Needless to say, Redseb wasn't an Asakura. At least, not yet.

"W-Why don't we go check on the Golem, Seyrarm?" Redseb suggested, grabbing his sister's arms and, without waiting for an answer, running out of there.

_Coward._ Hana thought to himself as he watched the boy run. Was this really the same Redseb-niichan who used to play soccer with him and feared nothing?

Well, considering that can-change-from-a-smile-to-a-death-glare-defends-Hana-and-will-always-talk-a-lot Seyrarm is mute girl, maybe it was possible.

Yoh shook his head, a small smile on his face as he saw the two running. Then he turned to Hana, his smile becoming a worried frown. He walked toward the little boy and kneeled down, on one knee, resting the palm of his hand on Hana's forehead.

"But you fainted, right? Are you sure you are okay? Do you think you are sick or something?"

The act caught the boy by surprise. Sick? Well... He did fell in a frozen lake a...few years in the future.

But that couldn't be the reason why he fainted.

"I feel fine," Hana said, shaking his head and frowning. He never really had someone that worried about him... It was weird.

"Maybe you should rest a little," Yoh continued frowning.

"Opacho beat him up a few hours ago," Anna pointed out "Maybe that's the reason he fainted?"

"Hey!" Hana complained, his hands curling into defiant fists. She did _not_ beat him... Wait. Was Anna really trying to figure out what was wrong with him? As if she actually _cared_?!

"No, I don't think so..." Yoh frowned "Maybe just the stress of the situation got to him."

Anna didn't answer. The stress of the situation meant everything from him being lost to the way she treated and the things she hid. She didn't want to be the reason why he fainted. Half of her hoped he knew that. Half of her hoped he was as ignorant as he looked.

"I'm fine, really!"

"Well, too bad, huh?" Yoh smiled "'Cause I don't believe you."

"Why not?"

"It doesn't matter." Yoh stood up. He cracked a grin. "It's my job to take care of you. You are my responsibility. I will make sure you are ok." He smiled wider. "Plus I... We care for you."

Hana looked down, biting his lower lip. They cared? He was their responsibility? They wanted to make sure he was ok? Why were they not like that during his own time period? Why couldn't they care then?! Why did they act so loving and... parent-like here, but when they truly become his parents, they just ignore him and forget about him to the point that Hana almost died? Why?

And why was his throat hurting?

Could it be that maybe he didn't want to return to his own time? Here he was welcomed, even if it was only by his dad, and he felt more loved than he ever did back home. Truth to be told, he never truly felt like his parents actually cared about him. Maybe while they were doing that world traveling business they suddenly remembered they had a son and that maybe they should take care of him, even if it wasn't for very long. Even if they did forget about him many times.

Even if he ran away in the middle of the stormy night.

Why couldn't they have followed him? Wasn't that what parents are supposed to do? When you pull a stunt like that, aren't they suppose to send you to your room? Some kids may consider him crazy, but Hana would do anything to get his parents to ground him. He would love to hear the words "Go to your room", just to, maybe an hour later, see the two of them appear at the door, calm, and the three of them would talk calmly about what happened, they would hear him and then they would hug.

And what actually happened was that his mother didn't care that he was 6 year old running alone in Tokyo during a snow storm. His dead uncle was the one who saved him, not his parents.

But here... Sure, his mother still hated him. A lot. But it was still less than his mother from the future. And his dad... His dad cared! Maybe it was not the love a parent should feel for their son, but it was still some sort of love! And to Hana, a little love was better than no love at all.

He would do anything to have this relationship with his real parents instead of his teen ones.

"Hana?" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and it was then he realized he was crying.

Damn... Perfect way to prove that there is nothing wrong, right?

"What happened?" Yoh asked, voice full of worried.

Hana couldn't hold it in anymore. The second after Yoh asked that he jumped into his arms, hugging him and crying hysterically, sobbing so hard that it was hard to breath.

Anna looked at her fiancée and then at the crying boy. That... Was unexpected. Her heart started aching a little. Was he crying because of her? No, that was an absurd. What could have she done to make him cry so much?

Oh yeah... Maybe that brought some old memories back? He did say he never got along with his parents and his uncles was crazy.

"What happened?" Yoh asked, hugging the boy back, patting his back lightly.

He continued sobbing.

"Hana?"

"I hate them..." Hana said. "They don't care... I hate them!!"

"Who?"

"_Them_! I hate _them_! They never cared, ever! It will never change!"

"Who, Hana?"

"My idiot parents!!!" Hana yelled. "They say the same thing to me... The same thing she...The same thing she said... My parents... My mom... We... used to fight like that... The last time I saw her we were fighting..."

Yoh stayed silent. So that was it. That's why Hana ran away, that's why he was crying. What Anna said... What Anna said must have brought back the memories of him and his mother fighting.

Across the room, Anna seemed to suddenly be paying attention to the two-man conversation. Judging by her expression, she wasn't hearing anything she liked.

As Hana screamed and cried about his mother, she suddenly felt horribly uncomfortable. Like it were entirely her fault for a reason she couldn't possibly even begin to understand.

The little boy's screams tore at her heart, and she was horrified to realize that she _cared._ Cared for a stranger who could possibly be here to bring death to her entire family.

She internally sighed. She had long since accepted that that couldn't be true. The circumstances were just too...wrong. Deep down, she truly knew that this was, indeed, a little boy who had been separated from his family. Deep down...she had a feeling that she knew something that desperately she wished she didn't.

Eventually the stress became too much, and she stood and slipped out the door, leaving her fiance and eventual son to mourn without her.

Neither noticed her exit, and Yoh and Hana went on talking as if she were never there.

In his head Yoh was making all the connections Anna had done already. And it hurt, seeing this boy so upset, so hurt... So full of grudge.

But what was a grudge? Nothing but a feeling of pure hatred coming from an bad experience, coming from sadness and... And disappointment.

Something that Hana seemed to know quite a lot about.

"You don't hate them..." Yoh said, calmly. "You are just angry and..."

"No, I do hate them!" Hana continued crying. "I hate them! I hate them! I hate them, I hate them, I hate them, I...." He sobbed.

Yoh only hugged him tighter.

"It's okay to cry, Hana," Yoh said, his voice calm, relaxing the little boy. "Just let go of all of that."

And for the next half an hour, the two stayed like that, Hana crying in Yoh's arms.

* * *

Smart Angel: Yeah... Things will get fun soon! We promise.

Besarki: So dramatic! Anyway, next chapter will hopefully be...reasonably soon....we hope. O.o ﻿


	8. Reflections

Besarki: Late? Pfft. This isn't late. No way. I mean, what, two months. That's not too long. Next chapter is going to be a five month gap. *Is struck with her own crowbar* WHAT! I was just kidding! Just kidding! Anyway, we do have an excuse for taking so long. (Cut-and-dry: Midterms, finals, and holiday prep. HARD TO FIND TIME FOR WRITING!) But regardless, we got it done and that's all that matters in the long run, eh?

Smart Angel: Sorry about the delay! Hao kidnapped us and told us not to write. He did it!! I swear! That's the only reaon why we haven't updated!

Besarki: For a kid who loves Hao so damn much she sure blames him for a lot. XD Anyway, for whatever reason, I LOVED this chapter. I have no idea why. Dunno if Smartsy did, but I loved it. It took damn long enough, but I think you'll all be pretty pleased with it. AWAY!

**Concerning chapter 6's title: A while ago, we told you that the title Chasing Butterflies was a double meaning for an upcoming problem and a major theme throughout this story. _Chasing Butterflies_ is, in fact, a metaphor. Some of you may have heard of it before. We used it in a bit of a different mindset (chasing fantasies and desired outcomes rather than facing the truth) though the main idea is the same. In the chapter, Seyrarm is literally chasing the insects around, however, that was actually there as a trick, a red herring, if you will. The true meaning of the chapter title metaphor is as follows:**

**_When you're chasing butterflies, you're not paying attention to the rest of the world, even as it's crashing down around you._**

**Chew on that for a while. :)**

* * *

It was the middle of the day, and Hana was sitting by his bed looking at the folded-corner photograph of his parents. It was a picture he used to carry everywhere after he found out who his real parents were. He was angry for the fact that they left him, but truth to be told, secretly he was always excited to meet his them. He was relieved to find out Tamao wasn't his real mother. In his head he would, sometimes, imagine how his life would change when his real parents came back. He would picture him waiting for them to pick him up at school, and then they taking him tot he park, watching him during his little league soccer game. He imagined his mother standing up for him when the principle called and accused him of something. He pictured them as a normal family.

What a disappointment it was when the first night they spent home was drinking and discussing how they wanted their heirs to be the Shaman King. They hardly talked, and his dad got so drunk he slept in the living room. In the morning Tamao was the one who woke him up and helped him get dressed, brushing his hair while he ate the breakfast Ryu cooked for him, nagging about how he slept too much. It was a normal morning, like his parents had never been there to begin with.

And from there, it all went downhill.

Sighing, Hana took another good look at the picture. His mother was holding him, smiling sweetly, her eyes on his face. His father had an arm around his mother's shoulder, his free hand's fingers were being held by the little baby in the image.

It was so weird... They looked like loving parents in that picture. Like they actually _cared_ for him. His father did seem a little more friendly during this time period, less of an idiot than in the future. But his mother...well, she _was_ nicer now than she had been in the beginning. But she wasn't like Yoh either. Maybe it was because she doesn't know what he was to her? Not that Yoh did, either, but...

But, regardless, even if she did...would that really make a difference? Would they love him and act like real parents, just like in the picture?

When did all that change?

"Hana?" A voice called from the door.

The young shaman jumped, his eyes the size of saucers, and hurriedly shoved the picture into his pocket, praying all the while that it didn't get even more bent or torn. Then, as quickly as possible, Hana turned his body around to face the speaker.

It was Yoh, as he figured.

"Hi," Hana greeted, somewhat deflated.

Yoh smiled weakly. "How are you feeling?"

Hana shrugged. Confused? Conflicted? Lost? "I'm fine."

His father retained his smile as took a seat on the bed beside him. Staying true to form, he was quick to gingerly place a comforting arm around his companion's shoulders. "I've never been in a situation quite as bizarre as yours--"

_You have no idea,_ Hana muttered mentally.

"--and I can only imagine just how difficult this must be for you, but...I want you to know, Hana, that no matter what happens...we're going to help you get through this. No matter what, we're going to help you. _I promise._"

Hana turned away, not knowing what to say to this wonderfully kind man who would one day become his good-for-nothing father.

_He can't know,_ A somber voice in his head whispered.

But what if...what if he _does_ find out? What if, horrified by what will become of him, he'll rebel and prevent everything that will happen?

_Like you?_

His head fell. It was a subject he didn't want to address, but it was a definite possibility, however unsavory it may seem.

He was unwanted, and if fading out of existence meant a brighter future for everyone else, then who was he to tangle with destiny?

Who was he...

Hana's eyes turned away. Slowly, they trailed to and out the window where a godly face watched him from the clouds.

-------

Yoh noticed that Hana had again that look in his eyes. The look that told him he was thinking about something, not paying attention to anything around. That something, Yoh guessed, was the secret he kept from everyone. Something to do with his past and with the reason he was here. Something that caused his heart to ache... Something probably to do with his parents.

Yoh sighed. He wanted to help that little boy. He never liked to see people in pain, but for some reason, he just couldn't figure out what was wrong. Hana was too closed. He wouldn't let anyone in. Something must have happened that made him like that.

And to help Hana, Yoh would have to get the blond boy to trust him.

"Are you alright, Hana? You haven't said a word since the match began."

The youth shrugged indifferently. In his mind were a thousand different problems--his time, his parents, how he got here, how he got back, if he _wanted_ to go back, where his uncle went, what his parents were doing, why this younger Yoh cared, whether or not the younger Anna cared, why Yoh was the only one to come to this battle, who this Manta kid was that Yoh kept blabbing about, where the Munzers had gone, why the heck he cared, why the heck _anyone_ cared, and the morbid curiosity as to how his brain had yet to explode from the intensive battle within it.

Hana sighed. No, he wasn't okay at all.

But he wasn't about to tell Yoh that.

"Yeah, Onii-chan. I'm fine."

Yoh frowned. "I won't push you, but you don't look fine."

Hana shot him a withering glance, and Yoh went abruptly silent. Hana felt bad, especially after the events that had unfolded the night before, but he didn't owe anyone an explanation, and even if he did, he wasn't ready to give one either way.

As Yoh stared quietly down at the battlefield, Hana's eyes wandered across the stands where he made eye contact with someone who had been on his mind only moments before.

_What is that idiot looking at?_ He mentally growled.

Hao noticed the little boy who finally noticed his stare. He opened a small smirk, as if to show him that he was indeed paying close attention to his every move. As a response Hana frowned and stuck his tongue out, a rather childish gesture that both surprised and amused Hao.

Really, this boy was so interesting... So full of secrets. He had some connections with the Asakura Family, that Hao was sure of. But he wasn't an Asakura, at least not one Hao was aware of, and he kept a close eye on that family, since they were his biggest obstacle to overcome in order to become the Shaman King.

And then there was the fact he couldn't read his mind, which only added to the mystery.

Who was that mysterious Hana?

Hao was going to find out...soon.

A frigid shiver ran down Hana's spine at his uncle's smile. He wasn't scared--no way. No matter how the all-powerful shaman acted, Hana knew, deep down, Hao was a good person. His father had assured him so, and he wouldn't lie to him. Not about that...would he?

"Don't let him intimidate you," Came a voice from beside him.

Hana startled, and quickly turned his head towards the right.

Anna was sitting with her arms crossed, staring down at the battlefield, just as she had been the entire fight.

The young shaman frowned. "What are you--"

"Hao. Don't let him scare you." Her attention remained fixated on the field, though she seemed to feel Hana's questioning eyes boring holes into her face. "He likes to make people think he's invincible. The fact is, he's not. Not by a long shot, but he's killed enough people to make the general populace believe that he is." The sun glinted off Anna's hair as she turned her head to stare down at him. For the longest moment, the young woman beside him was replaced with the stunningly real image of his twenty two year-old mother.

Hana's eyes widened to the size of saucers as the wind tousled her dark blond hair.

"The only way to beat him is to believe that he can, indeed, be beaten. Only with that mentality will you go anywhere in this battle."

Hana stared at her, his mouth a gaping _O_ as he stared in deafening silence, the sun's harsh beams shining down on them and bouncing off his mother's silver headband and the budding tears in his eyes. At long last, the illusion began to fade, the memories that fueled it finally dying away.

"No matter what happens, be strong."

------

After the battle, which Hana considered very _boring_ since all shamans who were competing were weak, Hana left with his parents and the rest of the group. Judging by their words and faces, they all seem to share his opinion.

"I swear, I was surprised Hao didn't leave the stadium. He only stays for exciting things," Horo-Horo said, putting his hand behind his head.

"Yeah...and he kept staring at us the entire battle... It was...weird," Added Chocolove.

Hana looked down. Should he tell them that Hao was looking at him or--

He paused upon feeling a light, soft touch upon his upper back. His eyes darted in the direction from where he had felt the hand depart and saw Anna, staring at him from the corner of her eye. Did she just...?

...No, it was impossible... That would be too out of character.

But then, what had she done that was "in-character" for her lately?

A laughing voice yanked him from his thoughts.

"Ugh, how awful was that fight?" Redseb groaned, throwing his arm around Hana's shoulder and jerking him away from his troubled thoughts. Out of the corner of his eye, Hana saw Anna look away and move to take her place at Yoh's side. "I mean, all they did was chase each other around until one team ran out of furyoku."

"Yeah," Hana said after a minute, though his voice lacked any real interest. "It was pretty dull."

"I mean, I've seen pathetic jokes like Chocolove fight better than that!"

"HEY!"

Redseb laughed deviously, and Hana rolled his eyes.

"Is there something you're trying to say to me, little man?" Chocolove demanded.

Redseb snickered. "Besides the fact that your jokes suck?"

Hana could practically see the steam coming out of Chocolove's ears.

The golem-user flashed Hana a quick smirk and then pushed up his sleeves and marched over to Chocolove, planning to teach the elder shaman a thing or two. Hana found this all terribly ridiculous. Monotonous, even.

Another day, another failed attempt at humor for Chocolove. Same old, same old.

Finally away from the constant chatter and, thankfully, the spotlight, Hana crept away from the others and planted himself on one of the cushions surrounding the long table.

For a moment, however fleeting, he found himself at peace. The attention was no longer on him, and now he had no need to focus on the restless banter surrounding him. Happily, his mind forced the loud conversations to fade into the harmless drone of background noise.

At last, he could sit aside and think. At last, at last...

And then the doorbell rang, and Hana groaned. Thinking was overrated, anyway.

"I'll get it!" Yoh cheerfully announced over everyone's loud voices. Smiling, he marched over to the door and swung it open.

His smile dropped at the very same instant as the noise became muted nothingness.

"Hao."

As if it had been the magic word, everyone instantaneously stood up at once. Hana only looked around, trying to take a peek, and not being able to. What, with so many teenagers getting in the way and you're only 6 year old, and quite small for that matter, you would have a hard time, too.

"I want see, too..." Hana half-whispered, half-grumbled to himself.

"No, you don't," A voice said, the one from the person right in front of him.

Hana frowned as he looked at his mother.

"Why not?"

"Because Hao is dangerous," Anna said, not moving, as if protecting him.

"Wha?" _But he is going to be the Shaman King, right?_ "But you said earlier..."

"That was when he was far away. We don't want to fear him, but it doesn't mean we're going to be reckless, does it?" Anna looked at him. "We've had an agreement to protect you until you find you're family, and you have no spirit ally. While you may not show fear, it is best if you avoid him while we don't know his intentions."

"You're so confusing..." Hana said, crossing his arms, but a warm feeling growing inside of him. It felt nice to have his mother...worry about him for a change.

"Relax, Otouto," Hao said, slightly raising both hands, as if in a sign of peace. "I just came to chat a little... Spend some...time with you. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

"Is that so...?" Yoh asked, getting his hopes up a little, though Anna clearly didn't buy it.

"Yes, of course." He smiled "Why would you ever doubt me?"

"Well..."

"And I also came to talk with your new guest..." He said, now peering around his younger brother to stare at the small blond boy who hid behind his bride. "I'm afraid I don't know him..."

Hana grinned, sure that, somehow, despite being in the past, and despite everything he had just said, his good uncle recognized him. Hao was all-seeing, right?

The little shaman went to take a step forward, only to have Anna throw herself into his path, blocking him.

"Kaa--" Hana began to protest, only to bite his own tongue in the middle of his very first word. _No, not yet,_ He thought, forcing a hasty and sloppy correction. "--nna."

Anna turned her head, confusion scribbled across her face. "Kanna?" She repeated.

_CRAP!_ He mentally gasped, _Stupid! STUPID! Way to mash that up into one of Hao's former lackeys! Now she's really going to be suspicious!_ And they had been making such progress...

"I-I meant Anna," Hana stuttered.

"No you didn't," Hao disagreed with a smirk.

_Shut-up, Ji-chan!_

"How would you know?" Hana demanded, forcingly _pushing_ Anna out of the way. He couldn't afford her resistance now.

Hao simply smiled.

A horrible, sinking feeling washed over the leader of the small group of shamans. The time for trust had passed. "Horo, Chocolove, take the Munzers home," Yoh ordered, stepping above the situation and grasping it by the horns. He turned to his fiancee. "Anna, get Hana out of here."

His brother forbade the action. "Ah ah," He spoke up. "The others may go if they wish, but I wish the three of you to remain here."

Horohoro and Chocolove looked to Yoh for further instructions, but he merely nodded them away. Both nervously returned the gesture before shuffling the two young golem-users away.

Yoh returned his attention to Hao, stepping up to him with reckless abandon. For the second time that day, Hana found himself staring at a different person than he had been watching only moments before.

Yoh, bearing the remarkable semblance of a stronger, bolder version of the father Hana had once known, stepped up to Hao, his long, flowing hair, spilling out over his shoulders.

Hana gawked in disbelief. What was this? Memories? Reflections?

"Yes?" Yoh asked, even his voice in the deeper baritone of his once cowardly father.

Evidently, Hao didn't seem to notice the difference, nor did Anna. It was only him.

"I wanted to meet the new edition to your little troop," Hao explained, gesturing to his eventual nephew.

"His name is Hana. He's looking for his family."

"And you're helping him find them. How nice."

"Yes..."

Hao chuckled. "You seem so nervous, all of a sudden, Yoh. Feeling a little on the paternal side?" He joked. Hana wondered if he was joking, or hinting that he did, indeed, know.

"It was very nice of you to visit and all, Hao, but was there anything in particular you came here to do? Besides meet Hana?"

His brother smiled. "Ah, you read me like a book, Yoh," He gently laughed. He sighed, a sweet and sinister smile still in place. "Well, I did actually come here to bring something to your attention. Something that was recently brought to _my_ attention."

"The Shaman Fight," Yoh guessed, still seeming awfully defensive. "I dropped out."

"Yes," Hao nodded, still looking as calm as ever. "Now, you see, that's a bit of a problem. It's something that doesn't fit into...the grand scheme of things."

_The grand scheme...?_ Hana frowned. This wasn't how he remembered Ryu telling the story of how Yoh rejoined the Shaman Fight...

"Now, understand, Yoh, that I'm perfectly aware that you have your own problems to sort out, and I respect that, but, at the same time, you should be aware that your number one responsibility, and mine, is the Shaman Fight, and the fact that you dropped out just doesn't work in my grand plan for the ultimate world. And so, I'm giving you two choices: Either you join the Shaman Fight, or I _kill_ your new friend."

------

Hana's frown overtook his face. That wasn't the right threat...and Hao had already sent Opacho to warn Yoh...he wasn't supposed to come himself too...

Hana was beginning to feel that something was very wrong.

Ryu had told him the story a dozen times over, and this was never once mentioned! Hana was sure of that. It was one of his favorite parts of the story, considering how he saw Redseb-nii and Seyrarm-neechan as his brother and sister instead of uncle and aunt. Redseb and Seyrarm also used to tell him about that part of the Shaman Fight, and about his Grandpa...

Why was it so different from what everyone told him?

Hao spoke up before anyone had a chance to say a word. "Now, I suppose it is nigh time that I take my leave...however, before I go..." He drawled, turning to Hana with a gentle yet mischievous smirk. "I'm curious...I can't seem to read your thoughts, and I'm wondering...why is that?"

Hana stared in awestruck horror. The last thing he wanted right now was attention from the evil incarnation of Hao. He struggled to find words. "I...I don't know."

Hao's smiled increased ever so slightly.

"Oh, but I think you do," He chuckled insistently. "I think you know a lot more than you're letting on, to be honest."

"That's enough, Hao," Yoh said, getting in between the two. "You should go now."

Hao laughed. "Ok, ok..." He stepped back, but not before looking at Hana once "If you ever need to talk, Hana-_chan_, just come and find me, ok? My camp is close to the forest where you were found. I'll be waiting."

And with that, he left. His invitation hanging like a venom-coated threat in the open air.

For the longest moment, no one spoke.

And then Anna broke the silence.

"Hana, you've had a long day...why don't you head to your room and get ready for bed? We'll come say goodnight to you later."

Her compassion was touching, even if slightly out of character. Still, he couldn't help but feel like she was trying to get him out of the room for whatever reason.

Deciding that it wasn't worth fighting, Hana simply nodded and made his way toward the bedroom he was currently using.

Even from a distance, though, his picked up the conversation they were trying to keep from him.

"I think he's right." His mother said.

"Who?" Yoh asked.

"Hao. Who else?"

"I figured, but... Anyway, about what?"

"Hana... He's hiding something."

There was a pause before Yoh spoke again. "...I know." He sighed laboriously. "But I can't bring myself to care. I'm sure that when he's ready, he'll tell us."

Anna didn't say anything right away, either, though hers was more a preemptive for a topic change than a thought process. "And what about you? What are you going to do about all of this?"

"For now? I'll go back to the Shaman Fight." He could almost hear the smile in his voice. "It's all I can do, really. Though, I'll need to prepare for the fight against Glasses... It won't be easy."

Hana heard the quiet laugh in his mother's tone. "When has it ever been?"

He could picture his father giving a nervous smile and scratching the back of his head. "Marco's not going to be happy."

"Oh, please. Is he ever happy?"

And Yoh laughed. "I guess not."

Someone breathed a quiet sigh, before Yoh picked up again.

"Things are really starting to get serious now, and people are starting to die over this game."

"That's the way it's always been, Yoh. You've just always tried to keep your eyes and your heart on the bright side of things."

He laughed. "I guess I _am_ guilty of that."

"I forgive you."

The quiet exchange gripped at Hana's heart. _This_ was the way his parents were supposed to act--To love each other whole-heartedly and unconditionally, and to never, ever look back.

"This is it, Anna. This is the real deal."

She said nothing. Words weren't needed.

"If I've ever needed you before, it's been nothing compared to how I need you now. And so I ask: Are you with me?"

There was one final pause, and Hana could only imagine what happened in that length of time before the final word was spoken:

"Always."

* * *

Smart Angel: Now soon **SPOILERSPOILERSPOILERSPOILER**!!!! I bet you guys can hardly wait for that, right? =D

Besarki: ASDFGHJKL!!! Next chapter is Marco!

**LASTLY, WE BOTH WANT TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON!! TALK TO YOU NEXT YEAR!**


	9. Jigsaw

Besarki: Oh my god. I can tell the future! O.O It DID take five months(almost)! Eek! Um, excuses! We had intensive computer difficulties this time around, which put us on hiatus for like, a month. You know how that goes. Still, we are really sorry, though if it's any consolation, you're getting what you waited for. This one chapter is more than the length of two-in other words, it's really, really long.

Smart Angel: All hail Besarki, for she sees the future! It's mainly my fault. Marcus, my computer, broke down for a month and a few weeks, while we're still in the beginning of the chapter... I'm sorry! But here is the chapter! Hopefully we won't take long before updating again, considering June is right around the corner. =D

**This chapter makes heavy references to what happened in the previous chapter. It's advised that you reread the chapter 8 before starting this one.**

**Also, please be aware that several of the lines in this chapter come directly from, or are very close adaptions (in some cases, the lines had grammatical mistakes that couldn't be overlooked and so we changed them in order to make them make sense) the manga-the scanlated version. As a result, there is a small section that doesn't flow particularly well with the rest of the chapter. This was a necessary evil as we wanted it to be EXTREMELY clear where we were deviated from the original script. Pay no mind, and enjoy the chapter! :)**

* * *

"Six...seven...eight...nine...TEN! Ready or not, here I come!" Hana exclaimed, whirling around, his eyes searching in every direction.

It was no later than eleven a.m. when the Munzers came pounding on inn door searching for the young shaman who was eating breakfast inside. Hana wasn't even given a chance to finish his meal before the two—well, Redseb, really—hauled him out the door and dragged him into the woods. Hana was given the hasty explanation that they were playing Hide-And-Seek and he was "it" before the two disappeared into the woods, which led to where he was, and what he was doing, now.

It reminded him of the time when he was little, when the two came to visit him along with his grandma. They used to play together, just like this. But because they were older, Hana would always lose. The two would sometimes play a small trick on him, and laugh, Seyrarm saying that he was "cute."

But now they were the same age. Meaning it was time for his big rematch. He couldn't beat Big Nii-chan and Big Nee-chan at any game, but he certainly could beat them when they were kids.

"Now, where could they be?" He asked himself, looking around.

Being in a forest, there were plenty of trees, any of which could make for good hiding places. Redseb probably climbed up one of those and was hiding in the leaves. Seyrarm, to the best of his knowledge, was busy playing the comatose game at this point so Redseb probably just hid her in a bush or something. They also could have dug a hole or some—naw, they didn't have enough time for that.

"Come out, come out wherever you are..." Hana drawled, poking through various bushes and glancing up every tree he passed. If he could find one of them, he could easily find the other. Redseb was never far from his little sister.

Almost out of earshot, Hana heard a soft rustling noise in one of the trees. Immediately, he turned toward the sound and saw the still-moving leaves of the big tree several paces off from him.

_Gotcha._

Hana dipped down and snatched up a very ordinary-looking rock off the ground before heading over to the tree. Once there, he paused at the base and glanced around disinterestedly before offhandedly peering up into the treetops.

His devious expression immediately unmasked itself as he pulled his arm back and snapped the pebble up into the leaves. A loud _**CLUNK**_ was heard a second later.

"OW!" Someone yelped.

Hana grinned. "Found ya."

A moment passed and Redseb stuck his glaring face out from the treetop. "What the heck was that for?"

Hana shrugged, still grinning. "I didn't feel like climbing up the tree to look for you."

"So you threw a rock? You're mean!"

"It worked, didn't it?"

Redseb merely stared at him seething. "I wanna be it this time so I can throw a huge boulder at _you!_"

"It wasn't a huge boulder, it was a rock!"

The elder child stuck his tongue out. Shortly after, he peered down into one of the bushes at the base of the tree. "It was a huge boulder, right Seyrarm?"

Sure enough, there was the little girl, quiet as a mouse as she sat within the small bush. "..."

Redseb grinned. "HA! See Hana? Huge boulder!"

Hana stared, dumbfounded. "But she didn't even—" He wasn't given the chance to finish.

"Redseb! Seyrarm!" An older voice rang out.

Hana abruptly froze. It couldn't be...

He turned around quickly to see a tall masked adult walking towards them. His eyes grew wide as he stared at the man coming in his direction, calling for the two Munzer siblings.

"Here Micky!" Redseb yelled from the tree, then quickly and skillfully jumped, landing on his two feet. He went to the bush and grabbed Seyrarm's hand, and started to wave towards the man. "We're here!"

"Oh, now I see!" Mikihisa said, laughing "I've been searching for you two for hours, where have you been?"

"We were playing hide and seek!" Redseb answered, with a childish grin.

"Hide and Seek?" The man asked curiously. It wasn't like he'd never heard of the game. He had seen and even played it as a child many times. He just never expected these two to play it, mainly because of Seyrarm... The man really cared about the little girl, as if she was his own daughter, even, but he had to admit that playing a game with her would never be fun. So why was Redseb trying?

"Yeah! With Hana!" Redseb answered.

That got him.

"Hana?" He asked, confused.

"Yep!" Redseb then stepped out of the way finally letting the masked man and the young boy face to face "Yoh-nii is taking care of him while he waits for his family. He got lost here in the island when he was..." He paused, looking at the blond boy "How did you get lost in this island, Hana? Only people in the Shaman Fight are suppose to be here and... Hana?"

But the boy did not seem to be paying attention. His eyes were wide, as he stared at the man in front of him. It was really him! Asakura Mikihisa! It was... It was his grandfather! The one he never had a chance to meet, and he was now, standing right there in front of him! What could he do but stare in amazement?

"Hana is your name, huh?" Mikihisa asked, going down on one knee so he could take a better look at this strange child. "Hana what?"

"Um... Asa... I-I mean... It's just Hana! Just Hana!" He answered, still too shocked to know how to react.

Mikihisa took on good look at the boy. His furyoku seemed strangely familiar, almost completely the same as Yoh's and Hao's. And those big eyes and hair... He reminded Mikihisa so much of his son when he was younger. It was true that Yoh thought he had only seen him twice before the Shaman Fight, once the night he was born, and the second when he introduced him to Tamao, but Mikihisa had kept an eye on his boy during those years. He thought about approaching him and closing the gap between them many times, but could never find enough courage to face that boy who had such lonely eyes. And it hurt even more to know that he was one of the reasons those eyes were like that. He couldn't possibly face Yoh, knowing how much pain the boy had gone through because of him, and how much more suffering he would have to endure because he was not strong enough the day he was born. But still, his fatherly impulses still made him watch the boy from afar, making sure the boy was healthy and Hao wouldn't try to hurt him.

And this Hana definitely reminded Mikihisa of his son. The furyoku, the facial features, even those eyes, that tried to hid pain of being abandoned, the same way Yoh's eyes did... But there were also parts of him that were not like Yoh at all. The determination, the lips, the light brown color of the eyes... They were all familiar, yet did not belong to anyone in the Asakura Family. Much like his blond hair.

That's when it hit him: Anna. The features that did not belong to his son, were Anna's for sure. Even his furyoku, the part that did not resemble Yoh's, were much like Anna's furyoku! This child was the perfect combination of Yoh and Anna! It was like he was... he was...

But that was impossible.

"Don't you have a family name?" He asked curiously. Redseb also tuned to look at Hana, curious. He knew the boy had told Yoh a little bit about his family, albeit it wasn't much, but he had not heard anything about it yet. Now that he thought of it, the boy's past was a mystery. He didn't care much before, well, still didn't, but Redseb had to admit that he was a bit curious about his new best friend.

Hana panicked. Oh no! He knew! He'd figured it out. And soon Redseb was going to know! And then, Seyrarm, and then Yoh and then Anna, and CRAP! What if he screwed up history? "Um...I, uh, used to, but I, um, forgetwhatitwas."

Mikihisa laughed. "You've forgotten your family name? How do you forget something like that?" A glint cast through his barely seen eyes told Hana that Mikihisa knew more than he was letting on. He turned to the Munzers. "Redseb, Seyrarm, head back to the inn. I'll meet you back there in a few hours."

"You're hanging out here?" Redseb questioned, annoyed because he knew that going back would mean he'd have to take a bath and go to bed soon. Yuck.

"I won't be long. I just need to help Hana here find his way home. I need to talk to my son, anyway."

Hana paused. "How'd you know where I was staying?" He asked. He didn't remember his parents describing his grandfather as being psychic.

Despite the fact that he couldn't see his face, Hana was sure that he saw Mikihisa smiling.

"I spoke to Yoh earlier about a young shaman named Hana. I can only assume that you are the same one he spoke of," Mikihsa lied.

Hana didn't buy it for a second. He wasn't raised in a barn. He _knew_ that his father and grandfather didn't speak like a father and son normally would. Their conversations were never the ordinary, "Hey, what's up?" or "How've you been?" or even "Good job in your last fight! You really showed them!" That kind of thing just didn't happen with the two of them. The chances that Mikihisa just randomly..._called Yoh_ were less than slim. The question was, did he go along with it?

Hana looked at him, trying to guess what to do. He didn't like to lie, but what was he suppose to do in this situation? Luckily, he didn't have to make any decisions, because before he could do anything Mikihisa spoke again.

"Well, Hana, how about you eat something with us and then I'll leave you at Yoh's place?" He asked, clearly knowing that Hana knew about his lie, and changing his former plan to fit them both. They both knew Hana was hiding something, and it was obvious now that he would have to come clean... But it would be best if they had this conversation without Redseb listening to it.

"Do you want go, Hana?" Redseb asked giddily. "I'm sure Seyrarm would love it, right?"

"..."

"I..."

"And then we can play some more, and you'll lose!"

"What?" Hana asked, now angry. "I will not lose! I will never lose to you!" _At least_, he thought, _not in this time period._

"Are you sure?" Redseb asked, smirking.

"Of course I'm sure! I'm going to win!"

"It's decided then!" Mikihisa said, interrupting the two. "You'll eat with us tonight! Come on kids!"

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Dinner came and went without incident save for the two times Redseb flicked a spoonful of mashed potatoes into Hana's face. However, other than that, dinner sailed by rather smoothly. Unfortunately, what came after that did not.

"Aww, man! This stinks!" Redseb fumed, trudging up the stairs with an aggravated expression, his mute sister trailing silently behind him.

"I'll be up to tuck you two in in a little while!" Mikihisa called up after them, amusement evident in his tone.

Redseb rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, ya big liar."

"I'll be up," Mikihisa promised, smiling under his crying mask. "And don't forget to brush your teeth! They should be shining when I come up there!"

Hana heard Redseb snort as he disappeared from view, vanishing around the corner, Seyrarm following mere seconds later.

Mikihisa stared off after the two for a long moment, before he turned to Hana, an invisible smile taking precedence on his face.

"So, _this_ is the face of the heir to the Asakura name," Mikihisa mused. "How old were my son and his bride when you were born?"

Hana gasped. **_He knew?_**

The Ascetic chuckled. "Your act isn't as convincing to a person who knows what to look for," He revealed, causing Hana's jaw to drop. Mikihisa hardly even saw him, and yet, he knew? How the heck...

Mikihisa leaned over and patted Hana on the head like a dog who had just successfully performed a simple trick. "Don't worry. I won't tell Yoh or Anna. This is something they need to find out for themselves."

Hana stared at the older man, unable to find the words to fit the situation. Probably because there weren't any. At least, none plausible to his young mind.

In a way that radiated delight, Mikihisa extended his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, _Asakura_ Hana."

Before Mikihisa knew it, he felt two arms around his legs, and soon he saw the young blonde boy, hugging him and crying. He was surprised. He thought this would be a happy reunion but... But the boy was crying! Why was he crying? What would this child to cry so much?

"Hey... Hey, Hana why are you crying?" He got down on one knees and placed his hand on the boy's head "What is wrong?"

"N-Nothing." The young shaman said, sniffing "I'm just... Happy to meet you, grandpa."

Mikihisa couldn't help but smile behind the mask.

"I'm happy to meet you too." He said warmly. "Although I'm curious to why you are here in the first place. Shouldn't you be in your own time period? How did you end up here, anyway?"

Hana backed away, beaming at the older man. "It's sort of a long story..." He said. Long? That was an understatement. To explain why he was there he would have to tell about his fight with his parents, and why he was so angry at them, and that his uncle was the one who became the Shaman King. He would probably also have to tell him all the details of the final battle and...

Yeah, it was one heck of a long story.

"We have a lot of time, don`t we?" Mikihisa said "Why don't you start? I would love to know more about my future grandson."

Hana grinned sheepishly. He had long imagined what he was say to Mikihisa had he every been able to meet him, but he hadn't planned on ever actually...meeting him. Everything was so surreal.

"Well...I've never really been...close to my parents. See, they left when I was really young to make the world a better place...and even though they were helping everyone else, they weren't there helping me, and I sort of resented them for it." Saying all of this out loud, Hana wondered if he should have felt as bitterly towards them as he always had. Not that he felt as strongly about their temporary absence now, but back then...

_Back then._ Hana almost laughed. He was treating it like it was an entire life ago, when, in essence, his time without his parents had only ended just under a year ago.

It _seemed_ like a whole life ago, and yet, it hadn't been more than a few weeks.

_Surreal._ That was the word he had used only moments ago. Everything was surreal. It was becoming increasingly harder to differentiate between what time was his—

And which time period he liked better...

"I know now that I probably should have cut them some more slack, but they just messed up over and _over_ again! It wasn't fair!" He bit his tongue. He couldn't take out all his pent up frustration on Mikihisa. It wouldn't be fair—not to him, and never to Mikihisa. "...I got fed up with it and ran away. It was probably the stupidest thing I've ever done."

Mikihisa stared at him in polite silence for a moment before finally speaking up. "Why is that?" He asked, sounding like a father despite the fact that he'd never been one. At least, not with Yoh.

Hana gave an embarrassed smile and scratched his neck absently. "I ran into some psycho ghost lady who tried to kill me. That's pretty much a blur to me. I remember feeling the freezing cold water and having trouble breathing, oh, and there was this creepy song...but that's all. I'm not positive exactly what happened after that, but I think someone saved me. I don't know who, though." A grin crossed his features. "That's when I met Hao. He was a spirit, of course, being the shaman king. Oh, and he's a good guy in my time. Hao was a good king, and he was very kind to me." Hana sighed. "He sent me back here, though he wouldn't tell me why."

Mikihisa laughed, causing Hana to glance up at him questioningly. "Wait, Hao's the shaman king? I'm lost. How about you start from the _very_ beginning?"

Hana groaned. "Fine."

So the boy told him everything. He told him about the Shaman Fight, about how Yoh got back after Hao threatened Redseb and Seyrarm, the training in Hell, the help from the Gandharas, everything. He explained the final battle, how everyone teamed up to defeat Hao's heart, and how in the end he became the Shaman King and made a deal with Yoh and the others: If they could change a small part of the world, or prove that humans were worth saving, he would spare them, but if not, he would carry out his plan.

He went on explaining how things went after that. How Redseb and Seyrarm were adopted by the Asakura Family, how Ren and Jeanne got married and had their baby, Men. He told about how Tamao changed, and about how Hao trained Yoh after he became the Shaman King. He incidentally "forgot" to mention Mikihisa's death...figuring it would be too awkward to say "Oh, by the way, you died. And not even in a cool battle or something, it was a car accident. So we never really met." How would you say that to your grandfather?

Besides that, he also explained about his parents leaving. He told about how Tamao raised him, telling him that she was his mother, and about his reaction when they all revealed the truth. Hana told about how he felt about being lied to. He felt betrayed, felt like a fool. And most of all...he felt like he was unloved. It was almost like, to his parents, he wasn't important.

And before he knew it Hana was crying again. Crying and saying how much he wanted to have loving parents like everyone else, but his just did not seem to care! He told Mikihisa about all the chances he gave them, and how they messed up each and every one. He told about the last one, how he told everyone who once teased him about not having parents that his parents were going to pick him up that day. Then he waited for hours and hours, sitting alone. He no longer cared about showing off his parents, he only wanted them to come and pick him up. Yet they forgot about him... Again!

And then there was that fight during dinner. He and his mother started yelling at each other, and Anna called him a "stubborn, spoiled brat" who was complaining about nothing. He told about how he got the impression his parents never even wanted to have him.

He was now sobbing, remembering that hateful argument. He remembered every single hurtful word Anna had said to him! All those words, they hurt more than the slap he had received when he got back home after Ryu came to pick him up! She said she didn't want him! She said she never wanted to have a kid like him! Like he didn't feel the same way! All he wanted was to have parents that loved him! It may be selfish, but he didn't care about the world! He didn't care if it wasn't safe! All he wanted was his parents with him, supporting him, smilign at him, protecting him, _loving_ him... Just like they were right now.

Yes, right now. Hana loved this time period. Sure, he missed his parents, he wished he could tell them the truth and have them love him like a parent loves a child, but he felt that what he shared with his parents here was a lot stronger, and nicer, than what he shared with his parents back at his own time period. He didn't know why, but teen Yoh and teen Anna were different, more loving, more understanding. They were what he wanted in his parents.

Hana went on to say how he then ran away, in a middle of a snow storm, and about the attack from the crazy ghost who said she wanted to be his mom and how she tried to kill him by drowning him. He told Mikihisa about when he woke up in a strange place, and how Hao wouldn't let him go back to sleep because if he did so he would die. He told about how Hao told him he almost died, and that if they didn't do something soon he would end up dying.

Then he told him about the last thing he heard before a big white flash came to sight. Hao told him that all he needed to know was that he was being sent to a place where he would be safe, that only Hao would be able to bring him back to his own time period and how he would come back when Hana's life was at risk no longer.

"Next thing I knew..." He said, sniffing. "I woke up in the forest and Lyserg found me."

_And we've come full circle..._

Mikihisa sat in a state of mimicked suspended animation. His expression remained completely masked by his borrowed face, but even completely invisible, it was clear as day.

Stunned. Mikihisa was stunned. His ascetic training had taken him all over the world. He had climbed the highest peaks, descended down the deepest of valleys, and yet, this single story, this single child, left him speechless.

Perhaps it was because in less than ten years, this little child had been through more than the experienced shaman had been through in his entire life.

Or maybe it was because he had never truly been a father. Had never practiced his paternal instincts and therefore couldn't soothe this boy who would one day be his grandson.

Or was it shame...shame for who he was...and who his son would eventually be.

Could this really be? Could his always-compassionate son take after one of his father's absolute worst qualities? Did that single quality, single fact cause the ascetic so much internal turmoil that it left him unable to speak to this little boy who needed him so much?

What had he done?

"Hana...Hana, I'm—"

"Don't apologize," Hana interrupted, wiping his eyes and running nose with his arm. "Don't you dare apologize."

Mikihisa stared at him, not understanding the young shaman's sudden change in temperament.

"I don't need an apology. Not from you."

A sudden smile crossed Mikihisa's face. "You're right."

Hana's confused eyes connected with the tiny slits in his grandfather's wooden face. "What?"

"I said, _you're right._ Contrary to what you may believe, you deserve an apology, Hana...but not from me."

Hana stared in him in incomprehension. He couldn't possibly be saying...

"I know that you're probably running out of faith, but I know my son—probably a lot better than you do, and I know...I know how horribly worried he probably is about you right now. Yoh isn't good at showing it, Hana, but I know without a shadow of doubt that he loves you beyond any instance of rhyme or reason. Adoration is just part of who he is," Mikihisa paused, his gentle smile seen despite being completely hidden, "just as it's part of who you are," He finished softly. The ascetic sighed. "Yoh is a spectacular young shaman. His people skills are sorely lacking, but his heart is in the right place." Mikihisa laughed to himself, remembering the few times he had seen his son during his childhood and connecting it to the child in front of him now. "Life can be exceedingly difficult, Hana, but you can never give up hope. Things will work out for you, just as they always seem to work out for your father." Mikihisa stopped to crouch down in front of the small boy. "Things have a way of fixing themselves. The only thing you have to do is stick around long enough to give them the chance to do so." The ascetic grinned. "Have faith, Asakura Hana. Have faith and keep your eyes skyward. Never forget that the stars are only visible to those who want to see them."

The elder shaman threw him a smile from behind his mask, and for the second time that day, the brave little time-traveler broke down in his grandfather's arms.  
**  
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

"Be careful on your way home, okay, Hana?" Mikihisa asked, at the door. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"Yeah, I'm sure Ji-chan," Hana said, sighing. "Gee, don't need to get so worried. I may be six, but I can take care of myself," He boasted.

"Yes, I'm sure you can," Mikihisa said, the smile evident in his voice. Not a moment passed before he kneeled down, putting his hand on Hana's head. "But I'm an adult, and it is our job to worry about kids like you."

"You should tell my parents that," Hana mumbled under his breath.

"I'm sure they already worry about you. More than you think." He then stood up. "Come visit us tomorrow, okay? Redseb and Seyrarm will like it as well! And I'll make you breakfast!"

Hana smiled. That would be nice... Especially since he knew that once he got back to his own time, breakfasts with Mikihisa would be no more than fleeting memories.

"I will! Thanks Ji-chan!" Hana grinned, waved and then left.

Mikihisa stood there, looking after the child, with a small smile. A grandson...! Who would have thought! Hana was born a few months after the Shaman Fight so... So soon he would be a grandfather! The idea just filled him with joy, especially after meeting said grandson! Hana was an amazing kid! Went through so much... Part of him wanted to keep the kid there and comfort him until all his pain went away. But he knew that it was impossible. Hana would always be hurting until the misunderstanding with his parents was over.

Plus, it wasn't him that needed to comfort Hana. It was Yoh and Anna... That was their job.

Another smile graced Mikihisa's lips when he thought about the future Hana had told him about: Tamao more confident, Redseb part of the family, Seyrarm speaking and smiling and Hao... Hao opening his heart to them all.

Hao would give the humans a chance, and they would become a family. Hao would have friends, Hao would have a family... He would be happy. It was nice to know that his eldest son, who lived a thousand years in pain, would finally know true happiness.

But his smile faded soon, as he felt something near by.

"Hao may be nice in your time period Hana... But right now, all he wants is the destruction of humans. He won't let anything get in his way." He sighed heavily. "Imari! Shigaraki!" Soon the two guardians appeared by his side. "Go protect my grandson! Make sure he is safe!"

Mikihisa's spiritual partners yipped and barked as their essences filled two of the small pebbles at the shaman's feet. Howling like wild animals, the two bounded off into the forest's wooded depths, disappearing among the shadows.

The wind spoke meaningless words as it touched and tousled Mikihisa's long hair.

"Take care of yourself," He whispered, his eyes searching for something deeper hidden beyond the clouds.

A sudden, violent gale threw a cloak of leaves all around him, mother nature obscuring the view of anyone who might have been watching. A moment later, the gale died away and the leaves fell to the ground, covering the tracks of the man who had stood there only mere seconds before.  
**  
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Hana sighed as he trudged through the woods. _Mikihisa..._

Mikihisa. His grandfather. Meeting him was just...it was life-altering. It broke his heart that if and when Hao finally decided to pull the plug on this whole "journey to the past thing" he'd never get a chance to speak to him again.

Death wasn't fair. It just wasn't. Shamans were, in essence, only human. They were humans with special gifts that expanded their appreciation of the beauty of nature, yet, when broken down to the basics, they were still just humans. They made mistakes and they did bad things, and Mikihisa was no exception. However, he didn't do _anything_ that warranted his death. Especially not at such a young age. Hao's followers did a lot worse than Mikihisa and yet they were mostly all still alive.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't at all fair.

Hana sighed. Yoh would tell him that that the unpredictability of life just made every new day that much more fulfilling. Made every day that you were able to open your eyes in the morning that much better.

He frowned. There were days where he wondered how his father was possibly able to think like that. How was he able to see life as a gift day after day, no matter how bad things got.

He supposed that was a gift in and of itself. A gift, or the essence of madness.

The thought made him laugh. Madness. Yeah, there were days where Hana wondered if his father was actually mad. That would explain his insane plans and the unbelievable simplicity involved in most of his plans.

Jeez. Maybe he'd finally found the truth. Perhaps Yoh was actually, in all reality, a lunatic through and through. It was almost sad that that almost made perfect sen—

Hana suddenly froze when he heard a stick break under the weight of someone's foot. He wasn't alone.

Hana threw himself against a tree, hiding behind its large trunk. _Ohcrapohcrapohcrap._ This couldn't be good. Someone—_almost certainly a shaman_—was in the forest with him and he was completely unarmed. The Shaman Fight was brutal. If it was an enemy shaman, and chances were _it was_, then he could be in big trouble. Some of the competitors weren't above sabotage and would kill the other participants outside of battle. Hana might not have been a participant, but there was no way for the other combatants to know that and a little kid unarmed and all by himself was an easy target.

And chances were, if a shaman were out here—in the middle of nowhere—he or she was up to no good.

Hana's heart pounded in his chest. This had the potential to be seriously bad. He'd been out in the woods by himself before, but he had never been far from his caretakers before. Even when he ran from his parents, or their teenage counterparts, anyway, he was never all that far away, and they were following him, and were never all that far behind. Mikihisa had gone in the entirely opposite direction and, as he'd been walking for a good fifteen minutes now, his grandfather was _long_ gone.

In his childish naivete, he hadn't expected to see anyone out here. Was he ever regretting that now.

Cautiously, Hana leaned around the bulky trunk and peered off towards where he had heard the sound which was too pronounced and continuous to be an animal.

It was a man. He was young, probably in his early teens. He was clearly Japanese with brown hair and eyes. On closer inspection, the teen appeared to be wearing a pair of...orange headphones?

Wait a second. Was that...?

WHAT THE HECK! Was that Yoh?

"What the...? What's he doing here?" Hana whispered to himself. Though maybe the better question would have been, _Where is he going?_

Yoh just continued walking, not noticing that he was being followed by his future son. Yeah, Hana knew he was suppose to go back to the house but... But he was too curious! His father was walking in the middle of the night alone. He had to find out what was going on!

So yeah, he followed. Sue him. It`s not like it is the worse thing he has ever done.

They continued to walk for a long time, and all Hana could think about was where they were going. Well, that wasn't all he was thinking about. He also wondered how the hell his father didn't even notice he was being followed? He was suppose to be a great shaman!

But the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree.

"There it is Amidamaru." Yoh said, surprising Hana "Be ready for anything."

"Hai, Yoh-dono," Said the Samurai, appearing out of nowhere.

Yoh smiled.

"Ok... I'm going." And with that, he stood up straight and continued to walk, the samurai following him. Hana did the same, in a distance, noticing that the woods lead to a beach, with a huge ship at the coast.

That's when Hana knew what was going to happen next. A smile appeared on his face.

This was one of his favorite battles from the Shaman Fight!

Hana could clearly remember Ryu telling him all about this one. He had always wished he had gotten the chance to see it. He couldn't believe he was suddenly given the opportunity!

It wasn't at as if Hana had anything against the X-Laws. He just...

Okay, well, that wasn't entirely true. While he didn't have anything against Lyserg or Jeanne—at least not anymore, the others had always rubbed him the wrong way. Their self-righteous speeches about perfect worlds and holy beings really got on his nerves, as did the way that they always seemed to look down on others—especially when those "others" were related to Hao, the "ultimate source of all evil and madness." Hana snorted. As if.

He allowed himself a slight smirk. Was it so wrong to be looking forward to seeing them get what was coming for them?

No, He decided. No it wasn't.

Grinning, Hana inched forward and set about quietly following his father into the shipyard.

Hana was careful not to be noticed, but frowned when he noticed there was nothing around to hide him. Well, at least nothing close enough so he could see or hear the battle.

"This sucks..." he murmured under his breath, sighing.

It was then that he noticed two presences around him. He looked to his side and noticed Imari and Shigaraki were next to him. That was odd... Shouldn`t they be with Mikihisa?

"What are you two doing here?" he asked, his voice low, so all Yoh could hear was whisperes he couldn`t understand, and probably thout it was just some random ghost.

But of course, no answer came from the two.

"Let me guess: Grandpa sent you two to protect me?" Again, no answer, but somehow Hana knew that he was right. It was such a Mikihisa thing to do. "Grandpa worries for nothing. I can take care of myself."

He sighed. Jeez, everyone was such a worrywart around here. What was it going to take to get everyone to understand that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself?

He closed his eyes and shook his head disdainfully. However, when they reopened, he caught something very interesting out of the corner of one of them.

With a mischievous grin, Shigaraki grabbed a random rock and chucked it at Imari.

Furious, the kitsune retaliated by slashing him across the face with her paw, throwing his head off to the side and averting his vision for a moment.

When Shigaraki whirled back around to retaliate, he froze as nothing but a simple, standard bush stood in her place.

Cloaking! Hana suddenly realized. Imari and Shigaraki specialized in cloaking!

This was perfect! Hana was slightly worried about being seen before, but if he had the two mountain spirits perform a cloaking technique over him, he was as good as invisible!

"Imari! Shigaraki!" He yipped excitedly, thrilled with this new development.

At the young shaman's call, Imari dropped her disguise and the two turned to stare at the speaker.

"Guys, listen: You can use cloaking right?"

The two spirits exchanged glances, first with each other and then with Hana. Slowly, they nodded.

Hana beamed. "This is fantastic! Listen, if you guys cloak me, we can sneak in super close! It'll be like we're part of the fight!"

Imari and Shigaraki seemed ill at ease with this plan, but, in theory, if Hana was invisible, there shouldn't be any way for anyone to target and harm him. Technically, he should be safe, which was what Mikihisa told them to keep him.

Uncomfortably, the two agreed. The smile that lit little Hana's face was positively radiant.

"Yes! You guys are the best," He cheered. Still in high spirits, Hana beckoned for them to follow as he crept to the edge of the forest.

Yoh had reached the middle of the shipyard by now, and was looking up at the large X-Laws vessel. To Hana's extreme excitement, the captain of the "holy" team stood at the edge of the boat's deck, his hands resting on the railing as he glared down at the young challenger on the ground. Hopefully their attention would be sufficiently occupied and they wouldn't notice when a random "tree" popped up at the edge of the outcropping.

A few moments passed and the remainder of the X-Laws, Lyserg included, made their way onto the deck. A staring contest—or a _glaring_ contest in the X-Laws case—seemed to ensue in the rolling expanse of time.

After what must have been an eternity, Yoh broke the silence with a stream of words that broke with his mostly pacifistic, easy-going policy on life.

"Even though I came to ask, I don't think...that it will be so easy." He bowed his head. "So I don't plan on arguing with you." A moment later, his head rose, a bright, courageous smile plastered upon it. "I will use fighting to solve this."

Hana practically wet his pants with all the excitement he felt from this entrancing encounter.

"Using violence to solve this...hmm, that means that even if you have to fight all of us, you still wish to rejoin the Shaman Fight."

Yoh nodded. "Yes, even the maiden."

Lyserg, who stood off to the side along with the other X-Laws, shrieked something in a voice coated in fear. Hana was too wrapped up in watching his father to hear him.

"Speaking Maiden-sama's name so impolitely is forbidden." Suddenly, Marco's hand, armed with his signature angel-firing-gun, shot up into the air. "Hmhmm. The answer is actually very simple. It doesn't matter how you soften it. The result only depends on actual strength." His grin suddenly became fierce and maniacal. "That is to say, you are still Hao's accomplice. Making your own path, ignoring truth, now I make your soul disappear forever!"

A battle cry was uttered and suddenly, a flurry of archangels appeared in the sky—all rushing toward Yoh who stood there with a mischievous smile plastered openly on his face.

One by one, the angels rushed at him with their massive arsenal of deadly weapons, and one by one, their attacks hit nothing but unoccupied ground. Swift and skillful, Yoh evaded, his Hyoui Gattai with Amidamaru allowing him to move safely out of the way before any of the angels could so much as brush him with their elongated weapons.

The pattern continued; they would strike with all of their power and he would leap out of the way just in time, too quick for them for them to touch him.

Time after time. Angel after angel.

Despite being vastly outnumbered, this battle was beginning to appear one-sided.

Marco wasn't having it. "_iOnly defending cannot defeat the enemy!_" He shrieked, ordering Michael forward to fly towards Yoh in one fatal swoop.

In the time it took to blink, Spirit of the Sword formed in Yoh's hands. All but one of the present X-Laws gasped in surprise at the fluidity of the technique. For the briefest of moments, their opponent was replaced with their most hated enemy.

Yoh swung the spiritual weapon toward Michael with acute precision. Unfortunately, mere moments before impact, Zelel jumped in the way, negating the attack completely."

Hana fumed. That traitor!

Yoh didn't seem at all offended. In fact, he didn't even seem bothered. All he did was offer Lyserg a gentle smile and a friendly suggestion that he back down, for he was going to do his best and keep fighting.

In a flash, he deflected the angel's attack, sending it barreling into the ocean.

For a moment, all was still, and then, simultaneously, the angels, minus Zelel and Michael, regrouped, gliding together and then turned to rush toward Yoh.

Together, the three pressed down on Spirit of the Sword, trapping Yoh where he stood.

Hana's heart pounded in excitement as tried to remember how Yoh got out of this situation.

_Marco mouths off about Yoh being naive, Lyserg tries to halt the attack by insisting that Yoh must have had some reason for behaving the way he did, Marco totally ignores him like the jackass he is, a bunch of other stuff happens, and then Tou-san frees himself with a stroke of sheer brilliance by using_—

His thought process came to screeching halt as the horrible reality of the situation dawned on him.

Hana's blood abruptly ran cold as he recalled with sickening clarity just what it was that got Yoh out of this deathtrap. The life-altering variables that changed the fight in his father's favor.

The spirits he did not have.

Hana had never felt more sick in his entire life.

_Imari and Shigaraki._

No...

Marco cocked his gun and pointed it directly at Yoh. A sinister smile spread across his face as he spoke the words that would remain with Hana for the rest of his life. "DEATH SENTENCE!"

Almost instantaneously, Hana burst from his illusion-crafted hiding spot, tears streaming down his face. "STOP!" He screamed.

Startled, Marco's attention shifted and his link to Michael was suddenly strained to the point where the spirit knew to attack, but not where.

Barreling forward, Michael slammed into the collection of angels, knocking them aside like pins in an alley. The angels' grip on the opposing shaman was suddenly lost and nothing remained to hold him in place for the incoming deathblow. When Michael finally crashed into him—tiny shock waves emanating from the very blow—his attack was drastically weakened from the others he had impacted, now only containing enough force to disengage Yoh's oversoul and send him shooting backwards—severely wounded, but alive.

"What in Kami's name?" Marco screamed, infuriated. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a little blond boy racing across the shipyard. Raging at the fact that his holy judgment had been impeded by nothing more than the voice of he pointed Michael at the running child. "Michael, destroy him!"

Mortified, Lyserg bolted towards his captain, sending his own angel to stop Marco's recovering one. "Marco, stop! He's just a little kid!"

"Do you think I care?" Marco barked. "He interfered with the elimination of one of Hao's accomplices! He must be punished!"

Lyserg rapidly disagreed. "Marco, if Michael hits him, he'll die! Murdered in cold blood! It's completely immoral!"

Marco sneered. "It doesn't matter. The world isn't going to miss one unruly child."

Lyserg couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I would! And it's not right! You _know_ it's not right! If we kill an innocent child—"

"He is in the way! He is helping Hao's twin brother!"

"But if you try to kill him, you'll be no better than Hao!"

Marco stopped, shocked at what the young British shaman had said. He quickly looked at the mysterious boy and the chocolate haired teenager. The missed attacked had still caused some damage, since both were hurt, the child more so than the intended target. The way Yoh stood up quickly trying to help the kid, the expression in his face, and the look the boy was sending him... It all reminded him of that night, years ago, when Hao destroyed that orphanage. He still remembered the look the children had as they died, still remembered their injuries and... And still remembered how in that moment he vowed to kill the bastard who caused it all.

Lowering his gun, he quickly turned around, not wanting to face the scene.

Hana's eyes widened in a horrified stupor. This wasn't supposed to be happening.

This _definitely_ wasn't supposed to be happening.

Something terribly wrong was going on, and he suspected that, somehow, it was all his fault. His presence had somehow...changed history...! Damn it! He couldn't think about that right now! The pain from the missed attack was finally taking over his body. It was not that horrible, he felt worse for sure, but it was still enough to make him push the thought of almost having his future father killed back and be substituted by, "How the hell do I stop this bleeding?"

Yoh painstakingly pushed himself up when he saw Hana half-collapse beside him.

"Hana...?" He called, his voice weak at first. When he didn't answer, however, all thoughts of pain immediately vanished, replaced with inherit worry for the little blonde shaman. "Hana?" Yoh repeated. Still nothing. He began to panic.

How did that happen? Where did he come from? "Are you okay? Answer me! Hana?"

Instant relief came with the little boy's labored words. "Yeah... I'm fine..." He mumbled, looking at himself, making a face as he tried to move himself and felt the pain increase tenfold. "I've...I've had it worse... I think..."

"You... You think?" Yoh half laughed. For a second he thought his heart had stopped. His brain forgot to tell him to breathe and his entire body froze.

He thought for a second the boy was going to die. But he was okay. He was okay... He was...

He fainted.

Yoh quickly grabbed the boy, bringing his body close to him. He could him breathing and he could feel his pulse. He only fainted. No need to be so worried. Mikihisa's spirits, who were now by his side, protected him against Marco's attack. It was still very surprising that he survived the attack with such minor injuries.

"Is he okay, Yoh?" Lyserg asked, running up to stand beside him.

"Yeah..." Yoh smiled. "Yeah, he's fine. He passed out, but he's alright." He smiled, caressing his face with the backs of his fingers. "I'll need to take him to Faust right away, though. Think you can stall Marco?"

Lyserg bit his lip. "Sure..." He paused to nervously throw an anxious at his captain, who was still avoiding looking at them. "I'll talk to him... Just take care of Hana."

Yoh spared his green-haired friend a thankful expression, and then turned to his young son, and smiled.

"I will... I always will."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

This place was a mess.

Anna shook her head as she stepped through the doorway and into the disaster zone known as Hana's room. Her eyes did a once around to survey the damage.

It wasn't pretty. Random books lay open and strewn across the floor, while several borrowed tee-shirts—all from Redseb—were hung and flung in many random places and an array of miscellaneous objects, several of which she had never seen before and was mystified as to how they had gotten there, occupied the space around them.

The wall had a huge dent in it—how he managed that one, she'd never know—someone had colored all over one of the walls, and a plastic dinosaur now hung from the ceiling fan.

She rolled her eyes.

If nothing else, the boy sure knew how to trash a place.

She noticed the clock out of the corner of her eye.

Yoh's inevitable fight with the X-Laws would have started by now. She wasn't worried. Anna always had complete confidence in her fiancee, and never, ever doubted his ability. That's why she never objected when he went against an opponent that was clearly stronger than he was. He could handle it. He had a set of claw marks across his chest to prove it.

Returning her attention to Hana's room, Anna noticed that his futon was unmade—not surprising—and a pair of pants with a huge mud stain on them laid across his pillow.

That's nice. At least he wasn't trying to make a statement against them and genuinely didn't care for _anyone's_ property, his own included.

Wordlessly, she reached over and lifted the article of clothing off his bed. It was absolutely disgusting and would probably stink up the whole inn if it wasn't washed. With a quiet sigh, she folded in her arms began to turn towards the door. She almost didn't notice as something slipped and fell from one of the pockets.

Anna paused, staring at the small white square that rested motionlessly on the ground.

From the back, it looked like a photograph, but of what she couldn't be sure.

_Just leave it,_ She told herself. _It's none of your business._

And it wasn't. It had absolutely nothing to do with her. It was something of Hana's and she was sure that, whatever it was, he most likely did not want her to see it.

She tried to look away, but found herself unable. It was then that she realized that she was only fooling herself if she honestly thought she could walk away without seeing whatever it was that was on the other side of the offending white square.

Against her better judgment, Anna placed the folded laundry on the floor and reached over to retrieve the picture from the ground.

_You're going to regret this._

She swallowed. "I know I am."

She stared at the back for a moment, trying to force herself to put it back down and walk out of the room. It wasn't working.

Her eyes squeezed shut. She couldn't believe she was having this huge ultimatum over a photograph.

_This is stupid. Just look at it quickly, then hide it under the pillow or something and pretend like you never saw the damn thing._

She smiled to herself.

Yes, she decided. That's what she would do.

Finally finding her resolve, Anna opened her eyes, took a deep breath, and flipped the little white square, expecting nothing all that out of the ordinary.

How very wrong she was.

An entire existence can change from a single, meager action, and in this action—it had.

With a loud, horrified gasp, the young itako felt all her strength leave her as her legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees.

Her heart exploded in her chest. All the air fled from her lungs.

Time seemed to stop and suddenly all was still.

And in that instant, the world, as she knew it, came crashing down around her.

* * *

Smart Angel: Before you start throwing stuff at us... *runs behind Besarki* Okay, now you can do it! (Besarki: EXCUSE ME!) We're sorry *hands in Besarki's sholders and lowering head every now and then* for the cliff hanger! Please review! And just remember, murder is a crime and if you kill us there will be no more updates!

Besarki: *Ducks from projectiles* Don't kill us please! This is our last update before summer so updates should come much more quickly now! Cross your fingers!

REVIEW!


	10. AN plus Chapter 10 Preview

Besarki: Hey guys! We just wanted to let you know that we are still alive and we are still writing. However, in recent months, a myriad of problems have plagued both of us. Everything from blown up computers (yes, another one. Mine this time. Technology hates us) to school (again, my problem. College is tons of work, man) to extreme stress has affected us and it makes writing really tough. We're trying—we really are, but it's really hard right now.

Smart Angel: Yeah... The stress is pretty much my fault. ^^" I don't want to get into it, but lot of things have happened during the past year, and this summer it finally started to affect me. This is also the reason why I haven't publish anything yet. But I'm getting better, and soon we will have the next chapter for you! Hope you like this!

**Several things have been brought to our attention recently, and we thought that it would be best to address them:  
ANNA: Oh my god, guys. YES, we know she's been being overly bitchy. THAT'S BEEN ON PURPOSE! WE REPEAT: WE HAVE PURPOSELY BEEN WRITING ANNA TO BE EXTREMELY UNTRUSTING AND RUDE. BECAUSE WHEN YOH IS THREATENED, SHE IS! We were flat-out astounded by just how many people missed the fact that this was intentional. Seriously. Go read something of Smart Angel's. Done? Okay, now go read something of Besarki's. Finished? Did you see Super-Bitch Anna in either of our stories? No? THAT'S CAUSE SBA WASN'T NECESSARY IN THOSE SITUATIONS! However, she's vital in this one. Honestly, guys. We thought you would have realized the intentionality. I mean, do you really think we would throw all this work in and then disregard Anna? Maybe you missed the manga, but Takei was glaringly obvious with the fact that Anna would do anything for Yoh. There is nothing she cares about even half as much as him. When Anna met Hana, the first thing she noticed was that he looked like Hao. That fact that she jumped to Hao and not Yoh was a defensive reflex. She fully and truly believed that Hana really was trying to worm his way into Yoh's affections and then turn on him. Yoh is really trusting—and it would not be hard to do. She is prone to irrational behavior and we're acknowledging that. We have done so much research for this story that if you saw the pages upon pages of it, you'd without a doubt be astounded. This story is that important to us that we actually sit around and talk out each scene for hours (sometimes days) in order to most creatively produce the best scenario possible. Plus, we look WAY ahead and gauge character so that it'll fit into...no, we can't comment on that yet. ;)  
FASHION OF WRITING: Unlike most co-author's, we do not write in a role-play format. Both of us write all characters. We hate to break it to you guys, but two authors means DOUBLE the time, not half. With one author, there is internal debate to decide how things play out. With two authors, there are two sets of internal debate plus an external debate. And trust us, we debate on situations a lot. Scenes don't get the okay unless both of us like it. In addition, we write scenes by taking turns writing passages and then better connecting them in the revision that's done at the end. That can take a really long time leading to...  
SLOW UPDATES: Yeah, we update at, like, a mach negative 3 speed, but, contrary to popular belief, it's not because we just don't feel like it. Believe it or not, we're not just sitting here. The two of us did a quick check over how much writing we have on the website where we do all our writing (don't bother looking. You won't find it. :)). Are you ready for this? WE HAVE OVER 220 PAGES WORTH OF WRITING THERE. TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY! This includes our planning stages, discussion, and the actual story. Yeah, that's how much work we put into this. WE'RE CRAZY!**

Besarki: Anyway, we feel bad about taking so long to update and then bumming you out with an author's note instead of a chapter so we agreed to give you a preview of chapter 10. Please note: This is not all we have done so far, but it does include the scene that we're pretty sure is the one that you all want. We're not cruel, we just act that way. ;)

Smart Angel: Who said we are evil? We are not! Really, if they think we are evil now, giving them a PREVIEW, they will think we are the Ladies of Hell once they find out what we have in store for this fic!

**Here's the preview!**

* * *

"I _said_ I was _sorry!_"

Ren and Horohoro turned to glare at their American teammate.

"You _ruined_ practice _AND_ cost us our food money for the next week!" Horohoro shouted.

Chocolove shrank back, his lip quivering ridiculously. "Aww, come on, guys! I didn't _mean_ to knock over those vases! Mic and I were just trying out this new technique we've been working on!" He swung his hands around in demonstration. Nobody seemed interested. "It's really great, but there was still more we had to do before it was perfect!"

Ren slammed his hands on the inn's oak table. "Like using 25,000 yen worth of pottery for target practice?"

Chocolove winced, but quickly moved to defend himself. "I swear it was a total accident! We weren't even aiming that—"

"Who cares?" Horohoro roared, cutting him off. "You still screwed us over big time, you oversized pile of—"

The sound of the room's door flying open and colliding with the adjacent wall abruptly stopped the ice shaman mid-sentence.

Three sets of eyes snapped to the entryway where a beaten and battered pair of warriors shakily stood, one unconscious and cradled in the arms of the other.

"YOH!" All three of the yelled, leaving the comfort of the sofa and armchairs to rush to their aid.

A weak smile was just beginning to form on Yoh's face when it abruptly disappeared and he suddenly began falling forward.

"Yoh!" They all once again yelped in unison, all moving to catch him and help him and his blonde tag-along to the couch.

"Thanks guys..." He mumbled weakly.

His four friends backed up and exchanged extremely nervous glances. They'd _never_ seen him this beaten up. Hell, they'd never seen anyone _alive_ this beaten up.

Quick, stolen glances revealed Hana to be even worse. Unlike Yoh, he was bleeding and, judging by his glassy eyes, appeared to have some head trauma. Not a good thing for anybody, but very possibly fatal to a child.

Ren pulled away from the examination and glanced around the room. There was no phone, though even if there had been, he wasn't sure it would have done them much good.

"Bason!" He shouted, luring his behemoth of a spirit ally out of his hiding place.

"Master?"

Ren pointed to the door. "Go find Faust. Tell him it's an emergency."

The spirit bowed his head respectfully before phasing out of sight.

Chocolove's lips curled into a frown. "Think they'll be alright?"

The four glanced worriedly at each other.

"I hope so," Lyserg whispered, guilt laced through every word.

Yoh's eyes twitched, fluttering between opened and closed. "...Anna...where...where is...?"

"I'm right here."

Five sets of eyes darted to the foot of the stairs where an utterly distraught Anna stood, a waterfall of tears stained against her reddened cheeks. The only thing on her person was a tiny white square clutched between her thumb and index finger.

"A-Anna?" Yoh choked out, shocked. "A-Are you...crying?" He whispered the last word, as if it was forbidden to even think about such a thing.

And maybe it was, because the face Anna made was one of complete disapproval.

"Of course not!" Anna yelled, her face getting redder "I don't cry!"

"Well, then what's with those tears?" Horo-Horo asked, smirking. This was priceless: The Ice Queen was actually crying!

"They are not tears, you idiot," She said, her teeth barely separating, which of course, caused her words to come out absolutely menacing.

"O...Okay..." Horohoro said, suddenly nervous, as he backed away.

However, while The Ren and the newly arrived Lyserg unconsciously backed away in fear, Yoh only gathered himself and stepped forward.

"Anna," Yoh said, standing up, his teeth clenching at the obvious pain. He did his best to dispel it before continuing. He accomplished this with mixed results. "What's wrong?" He asked, his once strong voice marred by the remaining bit of pain.

Anna barely noticed.

"Nothing is wrong!" She yelled, pulling away and withdrawing into herself. Not that that did anything to deter Yoh. The young man just continued walking towards his future wife, the concerned look on his face never lifting.

And yet, despite the fact that every bone in his body screamed for him to return to the couch, to remove this weight from his tortured body, his heart pushed him forward. "Anna, tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong!" She shrieked.

"Anna..." He said, now standing in front of her.

But there was no response. She simply looked down.

"Anna..." She bit her lip and glanced up at the man before her. Yoh's voice was calm and serene. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong," She repeated, quietly. "Nothing is..."

Yoh approached her unfinished sentence with an understanding look. "Anna, I—"

It was the wrong thing to do.

_**SLAP!**_

Everyone in attendance gasped as, out of nowhere, Anna slapped him across the face, a sickeningly familiar madness etched across her face, haunting her eyes.

"I'm not a child," She hissed. "You will not treat me like one..."

Slowly, _painstakingly,_ Yoh turned his head back to her. Anybody else would have been incensed beyond belief, and that's honestly what everyone was expecting.

They should have known better.

When Yoh's eyes connected, the only emotion present within them was a deep, unbreakable compassion.

Slowly and quietly, Yoh asked his question one more time: "Anna...what's wrong?"

And just like that, her resistance shattered.

The barriers she had built around herself caved as a waterfall of miserable tears streamed down her face, the fury in her eyes melting into utter despair.

Yoh's expression remained calm and collected, though inside he felt every agony that plagued her with the same or even greater intensity. "Anna—" He began to say, but she cut him off.

"I was wrong," She heaved. "I was so, so wrong."

Yoh offered a weak, but utterly genuine smile. He opened his mouth to speak, but she didn't give him the chance.

"I found this..." She choked, pushing a wrinkled photograph against his shoulder, "...in Hana's room..."

Her eyes sank to the ground as Yoh took the picture from her hand and studied it. His face went deathly pale.

* * *

**And that's the preview! We'll be back soon with the whole thing! See you soon!**


	11. Axiom

**No author's notes this time. Chapter 11 is half done. We'll see you soon.**

* * *

The Onmyouji arrived at the hideout late that night, a small smirk in his face. His followers, who were gathered around a fire, were drinking various beverages and sharing stories. They all stopped when they felt the immense furyoku close by, and stayed silent, watching as their master crossed the cluttered space. It was as usual: They never knew when it was okay to approach Hao, and when he wanted to be alone. The easiest thing to do was just sit in silence and wait. If he wanted to talk, he would sit with them with a smile, and they would continue their late night celebrations. If not, he would just silently go to his room, without even sparing them a glance.

This time, it seemed Hao did want to join them. He sat in between Opacho and Luchist, like always, and thanked Peyote as he gave him a drink. They continued to talk, and sometimes tried to bring Hao into their conversation, but his mind seemed to be far off. The glint in his eyes and the smirk on his lips... All the signs were there: Hao was planning something.

And that was not good news to whoever those plans involved.

"Hao-sama," Kanna cautiously spoke up after a moment, torn between whether or not it was a good idea to break him out of his almost drunken stupor—even if this news was undeniably pivotal. "Mari, Macchi, and I were out by the bay earlier today when we saw Yoh-san and his shrimpy tag-along get their asses kicked against the X-Laws."

Such news seemed to earn interested glances and voices of approval from most members, though it earned nothing more than small smiles from Hao and Opacho.

Hao's face was gentle. "I'm aware of today's events. It is all a rather unfortunate turn. I was sure that Yoh was smarter than this. To go against a full team of angels at his current strength, why, it would be suicide!" He seemed almost too amused, something that set everyone into a fit on unease.

Not much time passed before Turbine finally spoke up and asked the question on everyone's mind. "Hao-sama, if I may ask, why exactly do you wish for Yoh to return to the Shaman Fight? Would it not just be one more opponent you'd have to dispose of?"

Another warm smile accompanied Hao's indifferent shrug. "For the challenge? They are few and far between these days. I must jump at every chance I am given, especially one as grand as this." His smile grew. "After all, what's more of a challenge than a copy of myself?"

His followers exchanged edgy glances, only turning when they saw Hao rising out of the corner of their eye.

The leader of the tiny group of shamans bowed his head, his smile still in place. "It's been lovely dining with all of you, but for now, I must take my leave. Please, no company for the rest of the night."

With a casual turn of the heel, Hao departed, leaving behind a group of shamans who were now silently cursing themselves for not asking what his prior excitement had been over.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

"I _said_ I was _sorry!_"

Ren and Horohoro turned to glare at their American teammate.

"You _ruined_ practice _AND_ cost us our food money for the next week!" Horohoro shouted.

Chocolove shrank back, his lip quivering ridiculously. "Aww, come on, guys! I didn't _mean_ to knock over those vases! Mic and I were just trying out this new technique we've been working on!" He swung his hands around in demonstration. Nobody seemed interested. "It's really great, but there was still more we had to do before it was perfect!"

Ren slammed his hands on the inn's oak table. "Like using 25,000 yen worth of pottery for target practice?"

Chocolove winced, but quickly moved to defend himself. "I swear it was a total accident! We weren't even aiming that—"

"Who cares?" Horohoro roared, cutting him off. "You still screwed us over big time, you oversized pile of—"

The sound of the room's door flying open and colliding with the adjacent wall abruptly stopped the ice shaman mid-sentence.

Three sets of eyes snapped to the entryway where a beaten and battered pair of warriors shakily stood, one unconscious and cradled in the arms of the other.

"YOH!" All three of the yelled, leaving the comfort of the sofa and armchairs to rush to their aid.

A weak smile was just beginning to form on Yoh's face when it abruptly disappeared and he suddenly began falling forward.

"Yoh!" They all once again yelped in unison, all moving to catch him and help him and his blonde tag-along to the couch.

"Thanks guys..." He mumbled weakly.

His four friends backed up and exchanged extremely nervous glances. They'd _never_ seen him this beaten up. Hell, they'd never seen anyone _alive_ this beaten up.

Quick, stolen glances revealed Hana to be even worse. Unlike Yoh, he was bleeding and, judging by his glassy eyes, appeared to have some head trauma. Not a good thing for anybody, but very possibly fatal to a child.

Ren pulled away from the examination and glanced around the room. There was no phone, though even if there had been, he wasn't sure it would have done them much good.

"Bason!" He shouted, luring his behemoth of a spirit ally out of his hiding place.

"Young master?"

Ren pointed to the door. "Go find Faust. Tell him it's an emergency."

The spirit bowed his head respectfully before phasing out of sight.

Chocolove's lips curled into a frown. "Think they'll be alright?"

The four glanced worriedly at each other.

"I hope so," Lyserg whispered, guilt laced through every word.

Yoh's eyes twitched, fluttering between opened and closed. "...Anna...where...where is...?"

"I'm right here."

Five sets of eyes darted to the foot of the stairs where an utterly distraught Anna stood, a waterfall of tears stained against her reddened cheeks. The only thing on her person was a tiny white square clutched between her thumb and index fingers.

"A-Anna?" Yoh choked out, shocked. "A-Are you...crying?" He whispered the last word, as if it was forbidden to even think about such a thing.

And maybe it was, because the face Anna made was one of complete disapproval.

"Of course not!" Anna yelled, her face getting redder "I don't cry!"

"Well, then what's with those tears?" Horo-Horo asked, smirking. This was priceless: The Ice Queen was actually crying!

"They are not tears, you idiot," She said, her teeth barely separating, which of course, caused her words to come out absolutely menacing.

"O...Okay..." Horohoro said, suddenly nervous, as he backed away.

However, while The Ren and the newly arrived Lyserg unconsciously backed away in fear, Yoh only gathered himself and stepped forward.

"Anna," Yoh said, standing up, his teeth clenching at the obvious pain. He did his best to dispel it before continuing. He accomplished this with mixed results. "What's wrong?" He asked, his once strong voice marred by the remaining bit of pain.

Anna barely noticed.

"Nothing is wrong!" She yelled, pulling away and withdrawing into herself. Not that that did anything to deter Yoh. The young man just continued walking towards his future wife, the concerned look on his face never lifting.

And yet, despite the fact that every bone in his body screamed for him to return to the couch, to remove this weight from his tortured form, his heart pushed him forward. "Anna, tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong!" She shrieked.

"Anna..." He said, now standing in front of her.

But there was no response. She simply looked down.

"Anna..." She bit her lip and glanced up at the man before her. Yoh's voice was calm and serene. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong," She repeated, quietly. "Nothing is..."

Yoh approached her unfinished sentence with an understanding look. "Anna, I—"

It was the wrong thing to do.

_**SLAP!**_

Everyone in attendance gasped as, out of nowhere, Anna slapped him across the face, a sickeningly familiar madness etched into her expression, haunting her eyes.

"I'm not a child," She hissed. "You will not treat me like one..."

Slowly, _painstakingly,_ Yoh turned his head back to her. Anybody else would have been incensed beyond belief, and that's honestly what everyone was expecting.

They should have known better.

When Yoh's eyes connected, the only emotion present within them was a deep, unbreakable compassion.

Slowly and quietly, Yoh asked his question one more time: "Anna...what's wrong?"

And just like that, her resistance shattered.

The barriers she had built around herself caved as a waterfall of miserable tears streamed down her face, the fury in her eyes melting into utter despair.

Yoh's expression remained calm and collected, though inside he felt every agony that plagued her with the same or even greater intensity. "Anna—" He began to say, but she cut him off.

"I was wrong," She heaved. "I was so, so wrong."

Yoh offered a weak, but utterly genuine smile. He opened his mouth to speak, but she didn't give him the chance.

"I found this..." She choked, pushing a wrinkled photograph against his shoulder, "...in Hana's room..."

Her eyes sank to the ground as Yoh took the picture from her hand and studied it. His face went deathly pale.

His friends took notice instantly and a chorus of _What's wrong?_s and _Are you alright?_s quickly barraged the young shaman as his small handful of friends rushed to his side.

There was silence in the room. No one made a sound as the image in the picture sank into their brains. The picture was old and so bent that they could only guess where it had been, but it was what was within the picture that shocked them. Frozen in time, Yoh and Anna, along with a young, blond toddler stared back from behind the glossy cover. Though the prior two were obviously who they appeared to be, they were different, both with longer hair and more mature expressions. They were older, and that was horrifying. However, that was nothing in comparison to the faces they wore: faces with emotions that could only be described as unconditional love.

"What are you looking at?" Everyone jumped and turned around, only to see the owner of the picture trying to sit up. They had completely forgotten that the boy was there, and that his condition, right now, could be fatal. Not that he seemed to notice.

"Hana-san...!" Lyserg said, noticing everyone was still too shocked to react. "You shouldn't move, you're hurt and..."

"I'm fine!" He yelled annoyed. Damn it, why did they treat him like a kid? Sure, he was young, but in his six years he went through much worse than a bad defeat.

"Even so, you should not move, Hana-dono." Amidamaru said. "Faust-dono is coming to check on you and..."

"Whatever," He said, standing up with some difficulty. A part of him found it funny that Amidamaru was acted like a worried old lady even before he was born, though the rest of him was more concerned with the situation at hand. "What are you looking at?"

Yoh and Anna looked at each other, trying to figure out what to say. Then they looked at Hana. For the first time they felt like they were really seeing him. Blond messy hair that kept covering his eyes, and pair of light brown eyes, almost like honey, to complement that. To top it all he had a short temper, but was still a pretty lazy and easy going kid, with a very familiar nose and smile. Not to mention the furyoku that was so Asakura-like.

It was so obvious... How had they noticed before?

"What?" Hana asked, irritated. "Why won't you answer me?"

"Nothing..." Yoh said, shaking his head with a weak smile. He stepped closer to the boy and held his hand, his eyes carrying an emotion he never believed could be this strong. "You and I both need to get some rest, Faust will be here any minute and..."

"But...!" He looked behind, only to find Anna's hand on his back, pushing him gently along with Yoh. That shocked into silence and obedience. His mother was being nice to him? Anna, his mother? Those angels must have clocked him because there was no way this was reality!

"Sit, and stay there until Faust comes. Your injuries are bad enough, you can barely stay on your feet. Do what we say, and then we need to have a long talk." Despite being commanding, her voice seemed to hold the same feeling that Yoh's eyes carried. Unfortunately, also like Yoh, there was obvious strain laced throughout, like they were both doing all they could to fight the chaos.

Hana sat down, and was about to ask her what the hell happened that made her decide to be so nice all of the sudden, when he saw what she was carrying. His heart stopped and his thoughts ran a million miles per second, many times saying words that should not be in the vocabulary of a 6 year old child.

But he kept a composed look on the outside, one some may say he learned from Tamao, other would say he inherited from his real mother.

"Where did you get that?" Hana asked, his voice cold, eyes looking straight at the picture. Everyone stopped and looked at him, then at each other. No one knew what to expect next.

Anna did not answer, and his serenity faltered.

"_Where did you get that?_" He asked again, anger reappearing in his voice. Before Anna could answer, he stood up angrily. "You went through my stuff! That's mine, you have no right to hold it! Give it back right now!"

"I was cleaning your room," She said quietly. "I didn't mean to find it."

"It's mine," He repeated, doing his best _not_ to tell them how important it was to him. His venomous eyes turned on his father. "Give it back."

What choice did he have? Despite not wanting to, Yoh outstretched his hand with a weak, sad smile as Hana snatched the picture away.

"Why did you keep this from us?" Anna asked quietly as Hana stormed to the other side of the room, situating himself in a corner away from everyone else.

"I didn't keep _anything_ from you," He coldly retorted. "You never asked who I was, not specifically."

"Uh..." Horohoro began to speak up, only to be immediately cut off by a, "Shut up, Horo!" from a very agitated little shaman.

There was a long, pregnant silence before Hana finally spoke again.

"It wasn't supposed to be this way," He whispered. "This was supposed to be like a break or vacation.

Had Hana been turned around, he would have seen both Yoh's and Anna's faces fall.

Amidst the silence, the infantile voyager held the picture away from his shuddering chest to gaze at the faces that smiled back at him from within. After a moment's hesitation, he pressed a shaky finger to the photograph's surface and slowly ran the digit across it, tracing the outlines of the man and the woman that were both across the room and several years away.

To his extreme dismay, tears suddenly stung at the edges of his eyes. However, when he raised his hand to wipe them away, he found that he only succeeded in urging more.

Two rows of children's teeth gritted together as his raised hand suddenly began to shake.

And though he couldn't be sure, he could almost swear that he felt his heart twisting in his chest.

Why? Why did it hurt so much? Why did he feel so ashamed and alone? Why was everything suddenly unraveling? Why now?

Why were there tears running down his face? Why did this feel like the ultimate betrayal? Why did it, for the first time, feel like _he_ had failed _them?_

And if everything he wanted was here, why would he have given _anything_ to go back...?

A fountain of tears poured from his eyes, and deep down, he knew that he was finally coming to grips with _why_ he carried around a picture of two people he supposedly hated.

His little hand shook as he struggled against the storm. He choked out words that formed unintelligible sentences. Alone, he quivered.

It _had_ been a secret, contrary to what he had told Opacho _and_ told himself. It _had_ been a secret, but _not_ because he was looking to their teenage counterparts to fix his parents mistakes. No, it had been a secret because they were never meant to know, and all along he had been deathly afraid of what would happen if they did.

And now he was finally realizing why.

Without warning, Hana immediately climbed to his feet and bolted up the stairs, causing Yoh to yell after him and the other five to stare with wordless expressions.

Yoh and Anna exchanged worried expressions before Yoh turned to his four friends, his face uncharacteristically worried.

"Could we meet up with you guys later? I don't think...I mean, I..."

Ren stepped forward, his face a hard mask. "Stop tripping over your words. Pull yourself together and then handle this like you do everything else." He spared a glance at the door. "We will meet you at the stadium tomorrow. We're fighting Team Myooh and we expect you to be there."

"We will be," Yoh said quietly.

"Good," The Chinese shaman replied. He threw a glare at his company. "Numbskulls, let's go."

For once, no one fought the put down and by circumstance alone, everyone was speechless as they made for the door. Out of respect, even Amidamaru returned to his mortuary tablet.

With his friends gone, Yoh took a tentative step towards the stairs, pausing only when he felt his fiancee's hand pressed against his shoulder blade.

"Give him a moment," She whispered, her eyes glued to the floor. "I think he needs it just as much as we do."

And though it wasn't what he wanted to hear, he knew it was probably for the best.

In the end, the still-injured warrior settled for looking back and forth between his fiancee and the stairs.

Though his longing expression did not go unnoticed.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Far away, a dark spire stood alone in the middle of the forest. To the naked eye, the surrounding atmosphere seemed gentle and serene, but to the trained, it was easy to detect the soft, yet somehow _malevolent_ wind coursing throughout it.

In this dark tower of pain and regret, a single soul lingered—one whose existence was quickly approaching a vital fork in the metaphoric road of life.

Alone, but utterly unafraid, Asakura Hao wordlessly climbed the iron stairs.

All of his minions were gone, away, off doing whatever it was that he had assigned them to do that day. Not that their jobs or even their lives truly mattered. With power as unbridled as his, all acts performed in his favor merely made his job easier. He didn't need them, not really. He might have once, back when his power was dwarfed by an unfortunate accident, but that was a long time ago and he had since regained the energy and ability to render them useless. Still, they were loyal and loyalty was rewarded.

_To an extent,_ He added with the a gentle smile. But he wouldn't get into that. Not now.

As the lone shaman approached the top of the stairs, the wind that surrounded the spire turned violent, beating the foliage with reckless abandon.

Yes, he was powerful, but his power now was nothing compared to what it would be. In the future, when he was the Shaman King who himself would be partnered with the Great Spirit.

Yes, in the future when he would recreate the world in the name of the gods.

A world of only shamans—a planet free of those who would so foolishly disregard the world that gave them everything.

_A world with no humans._

And there was _nothing_ anyone could do to stop him.

Finally, he reached the blackened platform that overlooked the forest. Immediately, the wind fled, ripping at the trees in its desperation before it suddenly ceased and all was quiet.

For a moment, he did not move, but merely stared out into the soundless space.

And then, finally, Asakura Hao stepped out onto the balcony and placed his hands firmly on the wrought iron bars.

His eyes cast over the forest before settling on a single, populated point far off in the distance.

For a single, fleeting second, he was at peace with the atmosphere.

And then everything changed.

A sinister smile broke out across his face as an evil fire burned in his eyes.

The violent wind returned, the feral sky howled. Evil oozed from his every pore and from that moment, it seemed like nothing would ever be alright ever again.

In a single day, time had taken a tragic turn.

"Well, Hana, you've just made things a whole lot more interesting, haven't you?"


End file.
